Joaquim Alves

Joaquim Alves, CEO of Imovias, talks to TBY about the firm’s operations, consolidating market position, and plans for the coming year.

What are the main business lines of Imovias in Angola?

Joaquim Alves: The major lines of operation of Imovias are civil construction, facilities management and maintenance; however, we never ignore other interesting opportunities that might arise in other sectors of activity and we are always open to other opportunities; however, those are mostly the major areas of operation of Imovias.

You are dedicated to civil construction and public works. What have been the recent projects of Imovias in Angola?

Joaquim Alves: When it comes to civil construction, we have completed many different projects. For example, we have extensive expertise in terms of social work projects such as schools, clinics, health offices, water distribution systems and structuring projects mostly developed by the government. We have also done some roads—although that is not our major activity—and other civil industrial works. In the oil and gas industry, we did a great deal of civil construction works that ranged from simple facility maintenance and repair works to building a new industrial base in Cabinda for the oil and gas industry. For other private clients, we have been involved in very differentiated projects like offices, warehouses, houses, showrooms and other types of buildings or infrastructures. We also handle facility maintenance and management, mostly for oil and gas companies or the operators of offices, condominiums, residences or houses.

What has been your strategy to consolidate Imovias’ position in the country?

Joaquim Alves: Our strategy is focused on honesty; we have no special recipe for the rest of the market. The market needs players that stick to their words, do their work, follow the proper procedures, and whom the client can trust. Furthermore, they also need companies that have a long-term approach to the market, which means they have to work and conduct their strategy based on sustainability. We have been here since 2007, and we always operate the company by thinking about the long term. When you think this way, you need to consider all the stakeholders of the company, which also means to take a serious approach to the market, always taking into account quality, safety and a social view of society. For instance, in April 2020, when the lockdown started, no one could leave their homes, companies could not operate, and many companies simply gave up. During that time, we had to shut down our operations as everyone else though we never fired anyone and continued to pay our employees their salaries.

What are your plans for the coming year?

Joaquim Alves: We will continue doing what we have been doing for the last 15 years, which is to continue to work hard and contribute to the development of the country while working in civil construction, facilities management  and maintenance. We also want to keep watch for other opportunities in other sectors. There is much to do; the country is massive, and there are many necessities. If a company is resilient and sticks with Angola even when everyone else flees, ultimately they will be rewarded for that, which is what we have experienced. Since 2014, and for a few years, Angola was under huge pressure. First, because of the foreign exchange challenges, many foreign companies shut down their operations and went back, while other national companies were forced to close down. Then, came COVID-19, and the entire country was shut down which lead to a lot of companies giving up on operations due to global uncertainty. IMOVIAS endured all these challenges and we believe that ultimately we end up rewarded as the market slowly started to recover and new opportunities arose for remaining players. In the long run these players are the ones that end up remembered and rewarded by the market.