What is now known as Grupo Arena started out as a Communication and Advertising Agency. But, over 20 years, the small company has progressed into other sectors, such as the printing industry and provision of various services, while producing the largest and most important events in Angola. In an exclusive interview with Villas&Golfe, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bruno Ricardo Albernaz, who has a degree in Political Science, tells us the reason for this transformation and growth, highlighting the essential optimisation of resources.
If we go back 20 years, we realise how a small company became one of the largest business groups.
It really was a small communication and advertising company, created by two young utopians, me and my partner. It was an adventure. We were at the end of the armed conflict and nobody cared about advertising products. It was friends of my parents who helped us to do some work, because the market didn’t need this service, everything that was put up for sale disappeared. However, we realised we could organise events, we added this skill to advertising and, in 2003, Eventos Arena was born, and we soon produced Angola’s first trade fair, Constrói Angola, which had three salons – architecture, public works and construction; technology and science and telecommunications – and it went very well.
And you realised that fairs lay on your career path?
Yes, because in 2004 we organised Constrói Angola again, under the same format, and in 2005 we started doing eight fairs, all sector-specific. That year Angola saw a tremendous growth in fairs. With everything we were already doing, in terms of support for exhibitors, we created various companies, such as Beline Stands, which met the needs of those who wanted to take part, but did not have the means to produce the structure for the fair. We also created a travel agency – Arena Travel –, because there were international exhibitors. And at that time, a car rental company was also created, because it was necessary to pick people up from hotels. At the same time, we bolstered the Communication and Advertising Agency. Since then, as now, we offer a turnkey product, our clients don’t have to worry about these operational aspects. The Grupo Arena is responsible for organising FILDA (Angola International Fair), the largest business event in the country.
«We created professions that did not exist in Angola»
Was such a broad vision achieved by the opportunities that came about?
It might have been, but I understood, I think before its time, what the market was asking for. I think I’m a little daring, with a touch of madness, which is also important, because if you can stay cool when it comes to decision time, it all works out well. We grew very fast, so we had to organise ourselves, optimise all the resources and centralise all the offices in one space and, in 2010, the Grupo Arena was officially created.
The group works in the Printing Industry and also Service Industry. How did you overcome the challenges in training your employees?
We created professions that did not exist in Angola. There were no electricians specialised in events, nor people who knew how to set up stands and apply vinyl. There were traditional carpenters, but not experienced stand builders, such as metalworkers and cabinet makers. Nor were there people who knew how to operate digital printing machines. We train our staff and develop a worthy human capital. We are located in Cazenga, in Luanda, and it is an enormous source of pride to see that children from this neighbourhood, who started working here without knowing anything, are now the ones teaching others and have become extraordinary and honourable heads of family. At the moment, we have around 40 employees with 15 years of service; in all, we have 228 workers. It’s an honour to have played such an important social role reflected in the training.
«Angola was opening up to the world and we had to withstand the competition»
You have made major investments over the years...
We have always tried to invest a lot to keep up with the best on the market. We invest in quality machinery with reliable raw materials. And our employees handle all the machines without any problems. In this sector we almost don’t have expatriates. We have men who have made their lives here. In what concerns to the few expatriates that we have, for specific works, I ask them to leave their knowledge here and teach our employees.
How was it to position the Grupo Arena in that time?
We have always been at a disadvantage. Above all else, because we were Angolans in a market where the sharks of the advertising and printing industry, with more than 20 years’ experience, were arriving, along with other companies that were doing the same as us. Angola was opening up to the world and we had to withstand the competition. They were very aggressive, used to a breakneck pace, were very well prepared, with top technicians, and came to compete with us, who were tiny and without a great professional background, unlike them, who had a proven track record in the market.
What strategy did you use to avoid being swallowed up?
Besides being bold, it was the fact that we only depended on our work. They depended on the mother company, they were businessmen like us, but always thinking of maximising profit, so everything they earned went to the head office, which was abroad. In our case, everything we earned stayed here and we invested in machines, vehicles or whatever was necessary. We had some difficulties, because we were left with the worst jobs – in a project for a banking network, if there was a multinational and us, the people who decided always opted for the international ones. We were doing jobs in places that were further away from the city, so we had to do a lot of setting up in other provinces, but we went and did it, without hesitation.
«I take great pleasure in what I do»
How did you move the material and the people around?
We created a transport company. We couldn’t depend on third parties if we wanted to meet deadlines. Over the years, we have made mistakes, and we have always assumed these mistakes with humility; now, the client hands us a job and is reassured, knowing that our structure is large and that we already have a large professional past. The international companies helped us to grow, they spurred us on, and in the golden years from 2007 to 2009 we faced a very tough fight, we were surrounded by Brazilian, Portuguese and South African competitors, but we survived and many are no longer in Angola.
There were constant challenges, but you did not give up.
I take great pleasure in what I do and feel enormous joy when I see that an event or work has been successfully completed. I know that I still need to do a lot for my country, we have an obligation to do much better. I believe that I am driven by a great desire to do great and very good things and to leave an excellent image of Angola abroad. I have a tremendous passion for my country.
