Founded in 2021, Maroliv-International Group SGPS assembles several companies from different sectors. It is also present in Portugal and will soon invest in other countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco and Rwanda. Through its industries it provides the Angolan market with products ranging from school textbooks, school furniture and educational material to deep-sea fish. Managing this great diversity is António de Sousa Marques de Oliveira. Born 50 years ago, in Angola, his academic background is in Portugal, where he graduated in Marketing Management. At the age of 25 he became an entrepreneur, daring to put into practice the ideas that were in his head. Since then, he has never stopped.
In 2020, with the outbreak of the pandemic crisis, feeling the need to restructure the many companies he owned, António Oliveira founded Maroliv-International Group SGPS, providing at the same time a means for each company not to be limited to a certain market niche, but rather to expand and find more possibilities for diversification and other national and international markets. And, being a holding company, it guarantees the management of shareholdings in other companies indirectly of the performance of economic activities of each one. At the same time, it is allowed to provide technical services of administration and management to its participated companies, as well as to grant and hold financing. The aim of this structure is to grow in terms of number of assets, diversify in terms of sectors and to enter the international market with greater robustness: «We are in a phase of development in which we should look not only at the Angolan market, but also the African market and, at the same time, the world market, and, in this regard, we are separating what can be done in individual terms for each company and what can be done as a holding company,» António Oliveira explains.
«We must look, not only to the Angolan market, but also to the African market»
There is a feature, perhaps a hereditary model: all the companies in Angola use the letters UNI as a prefix and so we end up with: UNIMAP, founded in 2004, UNIANGOLA, founded in 2006, UNIMATER, founded in 2007 and UNIDECOR, founded in 2017, to name the most important ones. However, there was still no intention of forming a group and the young businessman thought that in Angola diversification was the only viable route, not being tied to just one market segment, but committing to industry for a reason: «In 2011 we realised that Angola urgently needed industrialization and we carried out a strategic project to find out how we could industrialise our companies. We carried out market studies with consultants and came to the conclusion that there were key sec- tors that would serve for us to industrialise,» says António Oliveira. Thus, with UNIANGOLA, the company entered the deep-sea fishing industry, as he recalls: «We bought the first fishing vessel in 2011 and began operating in January, 2012. Today we have four industrial vessels and, in the sector, we are one of the best established, fully Angolan companies. Our vessels fly the Angolan flag.» These vessels, trawler fishing in compliance with regulations – with loose mesh nets so that smaller fish don’t get caught, fulfilling the obligation to preserve the fauna and the environment. They are able to freeze their catch while still at sea, as Jorge Pinto, as explained Jorge Pinto, responsible for the exploration direction of the fishing company, explains: «We have, in our vessels, the capacity to freeze 1500 tonnes of fish/ per month. We sail in Angolan territorial waters up to the limit of the 17th parallel bordering Namibia, the most common fish caught is red snapper, hake, horse mackerel and john dory, we also catch meagre, grouper... All for consumption in Angola.» The fish freezing process features cutting edge technology to ensure the utmost of freshness. To do so, after being caught, the fish is gently washed and then enters the freezing tunnels, which are in the hold of the ships, and packed in sealed cardboard boxes.
«We realised that Angola urgently needed industrialization»
In terms of jobs, UNIANGOLA creates about 225 direct jobs, including eight expatriates, and nearly 700 indirect jobs. Although the sailors are certified to sail, training for fishing and fish packing is carried out on the ships. When António Oliveira realised that industrialisation was the way forward, he planned to move into the education sector, offering an almost turnkey package, with school materials, books and teaching materials manufactured at UNIDECOR: «We set up this factory on the Catumbela industrial estate in Benguela, because we didn’t want to be just in Luanda. We manufacture educational material there, such as pencils, erasers, crayons, chalk, notebooks and we intend to export, that will be our next goal».
Another industry works in this pole is a specialized industry, Maroliv – Steel Furniture, in the manufacture of school furniture, the first in the country, as well as furniture for hospital and office environments, using advanced robotic welding technology and electrostatic painting that allows the durability of the manufactured pieces.
Another of the group’s companies, UNIMATER, is a printing industry that makes everything from business cards to large format prints, but it was school textbooks that provided the big boost, as its general manager, João Botelho, points out: «The printing press was opened because it was understood that there was an opportunity to produce school textbooks, but now we are not dependent on this material and we produce all kinds of stationery, books for publishers and many other items, and we are also investing in packaging of various formats and labels.» This printing concern creates nearly 80 jobs, while producing around eight million school books, and training for the workers is ongoing, although they have hired some people with experience from other similar companies that closed, a result of the national situation.
With so many industries that the African continent needs, the move to other countries has already begun, as António Oliveira reveals: «At the moment we are already setting down international roots in the Republic Democratic of Congo; Morocco will provide a partnership in the fishing sector; and in Rwanda we expect to set up a printing unit in 2023, but more focused on packaging.»
«With great resistance and strength, we overcame the obstacles»
Recognised and awarded several times for the work he does, António Oliveira recognises that: «the awards are motivating and recognise the resilience of the Angolan businessman. We have lived through difficult years, with a devastating crisis, that began in 2015 and continues to this day. It started as a financial one, then became economic and today be- came social with people’s loss of income, causing social imbalances. Our companies and people were not immune, but with a great resistance and strength, we were overcame the obstacles, with extreme dedication and sacrifices from our employees, to whom we must pay tribute and recognition».
Sensitive to social causes, António Marques de Oliveira and his collaborators has created a way to support people and institutions, of which the Lar Horizonte Azul is a highlight. This is a home for war orphans and abandoned girls, with serious integration difficulties. With monetary donations, school books, teaching materials, construction and equipping of classrooms, this institution provides equal opportunities, directly and indirectly, to more than 500 children and young people, to ensure their integration into society is effective. «We also want to encourage some of these girls, who are finishing university, to work in our companies, we want to give them a future with quality and a steady job,» explains the young manager, António Oliveira, mentor of dozens of ideas and projects, most of which have already been implemented, but which lead the way for others, which will come into being in this new decade.
In 2020, with the outbreak of the pandemic crisis, feeling the need to restructure the many companies he owned, António Oliveira founded Maroliv-International Group SGPS, providing at the same time a means for each company not to be limited to a certain market niche, but rather to expand and find more possibilities for diversification and other national and international markets. And, being a holding company, it guarantees the management of shareholdings in other companies indirectly of the performance of economic activities of each one. At the same time, it is allowed to provide technical services of administration and management to its participated companies, as well as to grant and hold financing. The aim of this structure is to grow in terms of number of assets, diversify in terms of sectors and to enter the international market with greater robustness: «We are in a phase of development in which we should look not only at the Angolan market, but also the African market and, at the same time, the world market, and, in this regard, we are separating what can be done in individual terms for each company and what can be done as a holding company,» António Oliveira explains.
«We must look, not only to the Angolan market, but also to the African market»
There is a feature, perhaps a hereditary model: all the companies in Angola use the letters UNI as a prefix and so we end up with: UNIMAP, founded in 2004, UNIANGOLA, founded in 2006, UNIMATER, founded in 2007 and UNIDECOR, founded in 2017, to name the most important ones. However, there was still no intention of forming a group and the young businessman thought that in Angola diversification was the only viable route, not being tied to just one market segment, but committing to industry for a reason: «In 2011 we realised that Angola urgently needed industrialization and we carried out a strategic project to find out how we could industrialise our companies. We carried out market studies with consultants and came to the conclusion that there were key sec- tors that would serve for us to industrialise,» says António Oliveira. Thus, with UNIANGOLA, the company entered the deep-sea fishing industry, as he recalls: «We bought the first fishing vessel in 2011 and began operating in January, 2012. Today we have four industrial vessels and, in the sector, we are one of the best established, fully Angolan companies. Our vessels fly the Angolan flag.» These vessels, trawler fishing in compliance with regulations – with loose mesh nets so that smaller fish don’t get caught, fulfilling the obligation to preserve the fauna and the environment. They are able to freeze their catch while still at sea, as Jorge Pinto, as explained Jorge Pinto, responsible for the exploration direction of the fishing company, explains: «We have, in our vessels, the capacity to freeze 1500 tonnes of fish/ per month. We sail in Angolan territorial waters up to the limit of the 17th parallel bordering Namibia, the most common fish caught is red snapper, hake, horse mackerel and john dory, we also catch meagre, grouper... All for consumption in Angola.» The fish freezing process features cutting edge technology to ensure the utmost of freshness. To do so, after being caught, the fish is gently washed and then enters the freezing tunnels, which are in the hold of the ships, and packed in sealed cardboard boxes.
«We realised that Angola urgently needed industrialization»
In terms of jobs, UNIANGOLA creates about 225 direct jobs, including eight expatriates, and nearly 700 indirect jobs. Although the sailors are certified to sail, training for fishing and fish packing is carried out on the ships. When António Oliveira realised that industrialisation was the way forward, he planned to move into the education sector, offering an almost turnkey package, with school materials, books and teaching materials manufactured at UNIDECOR: «We set up this factory on the Catumbela industrial estate in Benguela, because we didn’t want to be just in Luanda. We manufacture educational material there, such as pencils, erasers, crayons, chalk, notebooks and we intend to export, that will be our next goal».
Another industry works in this pole is a specialized industry, Maroliv – Steel Furniture, in the manufacture of school furniture, the first in the country, as well as furniture for hospital and office environments, using advanced robotic welding technology and electrostatic painting that allows the durability of the manufactured pieces.
Another of the group’s companies, UNIMATER, is a printing industry that makes everything from business cards to large format prints, but it was school textbooks that provided the big boost, as its general manager, João Botelho, points out: «The printing press was opened because it was understood that there was an opportunity to produce school textbooks, but now we are not dependent on this material and we produce all kinds of stationery, books for publishers and many other items, and we are also investing in packaging of various formats and labels.» This printing concern creates nearly 80 jobs, while producing around eight million school books, and training for the workers is ongoing, although they have hired some people with experience from other similar companies that closed, a result of the national situation.
With so many industries that the African continent needs, the move to other countries has already begun, as António Oliveira reveals: «At the moment we are already setting down international roots in the Republic Democratic of Congo; Morocco will provide a partnership in the fishing sector; and in Rwanda we expect to set up a printing unit in 2023, but more focused on packaging.»
«With great resistance and strength, we overcame the obstacles»
Recognised and awarded several times for the work he does, António Oliveira recognises that: «the awards are motivating and recognise the resilience of the Angolan businessman. We have lived through difficult years, with a devastating crisis, that began in 2015 and continues to this day. It started as a financial one, then became economic and today be- came social with people’s loss of income, causing social imbalances. Our companies and people were not immune, but with a great resistance and strength, we were overcame the obstacles, with extreme dedication and sacrifices from our employees, to whom we must pay tribute and recognition».
Sensitive to social causes, António Marques de Oliveira and his collaborators has created a way to support people and institutions, of which the Lar Horizonte Azul is a highlight. This is a home for war orphans and abandoned girls, with serious integration difficulties. With monetary donations, school books, teaching materials, construction and equipping of classrooms, this institution provides equal opportunities, directly and indirectly, to more than 500 children and young people, to ensure their integration into society is effective. «We also want to encourage some of these girls, who are finishing university, to work in our companies, we want to give them a future with quality and a steady job,» explains the young manager, António Oliveira, mentor of dozens of ideas and projects, most of which have already been implemented, but which lead the way for others, which will come into being in this new decade.
