ANGOLA - Industry
President, Noble Group
Bio
Nazim Charania is an entrepreneur with close to three decades of hands-on, value-driven experience in wholesale, retail and FMCG, manufacturing sectors, and more.
NAZIM CHARANIA Noble Group started in Angola in 2002 as a trading company to first assess the potential of the market, understand the gaps, and determine what can be produced or packed locally. And 10 years of understanding the challenges and opportunities, we prepared ourselves for more aggressive forward integration with the opening of our retail business in 2014. With considerable presence on the market and driving volumes, backward integration was the mantra thereafter to plan what and how to produce locally. In 2015, we set up our first manufacturing unit in Angola to develop an identity that Angolans associate with and also caters to different sectors of businesses. We want to be known as the biggest distribution hub in central and sub-Saharan Africa in the near future and a major player in the industrial growth of Angola.
HUGO MOUTINHO Globally, Noble Group is part of Group SNS. The group started with trading in Angola through traditional wholesale stores under the brand Nossa Casa as well as more modern retail stores AngoMart and Dukan. While AngoMart trades primarily in quality, fresh, variety of grocery and basic needs, Dukan serves lifestyle products to every Angolan. While the focus remained primarily on trading, the group also focused on building local capacity through manufacturing. We are now present in many sectors, and our investment is planned after a careful analysis of each and every sector we enter. In the manufacturing sector, Noble Group has entered into different sectors including biscuits, beverage (water and juices), detergents, bottling of non-alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, toothpaste, milk, and packaging, retail, wholesale, and recycling of paper. In trading, the group has a wholesale and retail format to ensure its products and services reach every Angolan.
NC I must acknowledge the people who believed in us and stayed with us during the trying times of COVID-19. We have always believed in this great nation, especially because of its stability and investment-friendly laws, and that drove our passion to expand our businesses. We focused our investment in 2020 and 2021. In that same period, Angola witnessed an economic downturn along with other countries around the world. We saw this as an opportunity and invested in real estate, keeping in mind future businesses growth and expansion in trading and manufacturing. I see many opportunities in the areas of local manufacturing and retail sector. As there is a growing need by an average Angolan for better quality and variety, growth in the retail sector is imminent. And with the experience and capacity we have, we can meet that expectation with quality services and products at best prices at all times.
HM During and post the pandemic, most businesses either closed permanently or shut down for some time. But Noble Group believed in Angola and its policies and continued to invest in different manufacturing sectors and retained its employees throughout the period as well. Our investments in manufacturing started with Unique Beverages in the non-alcoholic beer sector in 2015 to other different sectors. In 2022, the group made acquisitions in three new sectors: Future Group, which works in juice and beverages; Alimentos Sabaros, which is focused on biscuits; and Basel Angola. The group continues to expand to other provinces with the wholesale format Nossa Casa and the retail format, AngoMart and Dukan. We opened AngoMart in other provinces in more remote areas to serve more Angolans with a variety of products and services at best prices. We have aggressive plans to open more than 11 stores in 2023.
NC Since we started our business in 2002, we have been employing Angolans, now employing more than 6,000 directly and more than 12,000 indirectly in different businesses under Noble Group. Besides creating employment, the group identifies training needs from time to time among employees, and continuously build local capacity and develop human capital for sustenance and future growth.
HM Noble Group continues to serve central and sub-Saharan Africa with goods and services and employees 6,500 people directly and more than 12,000 indirectly through associations and the multiplier effect via its several businesses. Noble Group has already ventured into planned outlay in terms of investment and activities in Mozambique and Namibia, primarily focusing on trading for the moment. After settling in these two countries, the group will expand in a structured manner with additional investments.
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ANGOLA - Economy
Interview
President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Angola-Saudi Arabia (CCIAAS)