ANGOLA - Economy
CEO, Grupo SANEP
Bio
Luis Troso holds a degree in human resources management and a postgraduate in investments in financial markets. He is an entrepreneur with more than 16 years of professional activity and vast experience in the leadership and management of people, projects, and companies with emphasis on the financial sector where he started his professional career and today he has stakes in companies in the sector. He has been the Founder & President of the Grupo SANEP since 2013.
Luis Troso, CEO of Grupo SANEP, talks to TBY about its operations in the agribusiness, oil and gas, financial, logistics and distribution, industry, and construction and real estate sectors.
Grupo SANEP operates in all sectors of the economy, aiming to ensure a new standard of quality. What services do you provide in Angola?
Grupo SANEP is an Angolan group which is now internationalized with a presence in Europe, in Portugal, Spain and recently in Poland. In Africa, we are also present in Mozambique. Speaking specifically of Angola, the group operates in the sectors of finance, agriculture, logistics and distribution, real estate, and industry. I classify oil and gas as an industrial sector. We are in these sectors because we understand they are the key ones requiring investment that bring offer the greatest opportunities. Since our country is young, with most of the population under 30 years of age, it still needs a lot of support in terms of investment, especially in technology. This has prompted us to seek our innovative solutions for our country.
One of the current focus areas is technology and the digitalization of the Angolan economy. What does this hold in store for Grupo SANEP?
For Angola, this is an enormous opportunity, as it will allow us to make a significant technological advance in a short space of time. With the technology available and in accordance with government objectives, our group went to Poland with the aim of establishing partnerships that will result in a technology transfer to us. We have also started the first phase of our pharmaceutical park, with the start-up of our industry for the production of galenical products, non-drug hospital products. We have also entered into a partnership with an Italian company that is transferring technology to us to enable us to produce intravenous medicines. Within the next two years, we would like to meet around 60% of total medication requirements for certain pathologies. There are other challenges. The fact that our country is still not at the top of the ranking for WHO prevents us from developing other types of medicine, such as oral tablets; however, this is already a significant step that can be taken. The oil and gas sector is where Angola has some of the most advanced technologies in the world. Currently, our group is part of a shared block with Canadian partners.
Your company is operating in several countries. How are these strategic orientations helping its overall development?
In Spain, we acquired a cold storage company located in the port of Huelva, in southern Spain, which is the fifth largest port in Europe. We want, through this company, to be able to introduce products made in Angola into the European market, such as fruit, fish, and other seafood. What we want is to take the best of what Angola has in terms of quality and sufficient production for export and send it to Europe. The opposite is also true of Spain, which is an agricultural powerhouse. For example, in the production of fruit such as oranges, olive oil, and other products needed by Angolan industry, we want to use our structures to become a platform for exchanges between Angola and these markets. This is the approach we have in all the markets we operate in. We want Angola to have access to these markets and that, through our company, other Angolan companies can network and gain access to these markets.Â
Grupo SANEP intended to expand to seven provinces beyond Luanda. How have these expansion plans evolved after the pandemic?
Grupo SANEP currently has nationwide coverage, either through partners or our own representations. We are currently distributing agricultural products nationwide for the agricultural campaign. At the start of 2021, for our 2022-2025 program, we approved the decision to be in all the municipal headquarters of the 196 municipalities of the country. We want to develop a franchise model through local entrepreneurs that we will train and help to create microcredit and insurance availability through our companies and the financial sector. Giving them training, credit and having them become our representatives will help to motivate other national
entrepreneurs.
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ANGOLA - Economy
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