By Serafim Canhanga and Claudete Ferreira
Africa-Press – Angola. The young Manuel Maquiesse Emanuel “MME”, aged 34, stood out as an example of success capable of inspiring many others to develop the spirit of entrepreneurship.
With a simple printer and a computer printing and scanning documents, in the middle of the Kikolo Market, MME made the dream a reality by investing heavily in a project that now offers employment to 90 other young people.
It all started with an investment of 10 thousand kwanzas, around 10 years ago, when this amount was equivalent to 100 US dollars, today equivalent to 100 thousand kwanzas.
In addition to Kikolo, MME visited other parts of the city for “zunga” (street sales or service), including neighborhoods such as Augusto Ngangula, Gesso and Paraíso, where it printed, photocopied and digitized documents from neighbors, friends and other customers.
With his father’s support, he moved to a larger space, next to Estrada Nacional (EN) 100, which crosses the main town of Cacuaco, and from there he got two more computers and a printer, which galvanized him to do outpatient graphic work in the Paraíso-Kikolo route and vice versa.
However, this route was feared at the time, given the reputation for crime associated with the Paraíso neighborhood. Some of his clients suffered robberies when they were looking for him and, therefore, they themselves advised their service provider to look for a safer place, he said.
Unsatisfied with the insecurity, but determined to reach a larger clientele, he rented another larger space in the main town of Cacuaco and, immediately, went from being a tenant to being the owner of the property, where he would create a larger structure.
Expansion of services provided
In the new structure created, Maquiesse Emanuel expanded its scope of activity to areas such as real estate and private security, among other services under the MME brand.
The structure, currently with a share capital of over 50 million kwanzas, provides employment for 90 other young people aged between 18 and 34.
Later, he also extended these areas to the provinces of Bengo, Cuanza-Sul, Huambo and Bié and plans to advance with the same objective to the provinces of Zaire and Uíge, his homeland.
Young Emanuel is today a computer engineer and renowned entrepreneur in Cacuaco, providing his various services, which guarantee sustenance for the households of many heads of families.
In one of the events promoted by the Municipal Administration of Cacuaco, he was elected “Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2023” in the district, where he is treated affectionately by MME in local administrative matters.
As a result, he established himself as one of the sources of inspiration for many of his followers.
In fact, the title of Cacuaco’s Best Entrepreneur of 2023 earned him a “Trophy of Merit” whose certificate he showed to journalists with a “radiant smile” while reporting on his venture.
He says he doesn’t want to get conceited or let his guard down, but from the printing shop, where he was a graphic designer, and an industrial sewing line, he intends to expand his activities with the construction of a Medium Health Institute.
After training in computer engineering and other training related to the design field, he established himself in entrepreneurship with the creation of a larger printing company, outsourcing sewing services to other factories.
With solid management and financial maturity, his team was able to invest first in machines and, after starting work, the idea of creating a private security company emerged, in a project that was jointly owned by his father.
Like the first property, the owner of the space occupied by the security company proposed selling it in 2022, a challenge readily embraced by MME, who went from tenant to owner once again.
“I always told the municipal administrator, one of the youth mentors, someone who brought a lot of experience to us, the youth sector, that it is right here, in Cacuaco, where he would do something unique”, he recalled.
He says he believed in his project and acknowledges having had a lot of support, especially from the Municipal Administration, “which wants to work to help society”, so the doors were opened to him “without any obstacles” when it came to complying with the legal and “without bureaucracy”.
At this moment, the young man plans to build, starting this year, a Health School with 16 classrooms, with the capacity to accommodate more than a thousand students, with its opening scheduled for September 2025.
Challenge of the economic crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic
MME considers that the biggest challenge faced was the fall of the economic system with the recently recorded Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the company to partially close for around a year.
“After Covid-19, the company reopened its doors”, he said, highlighting that, during the pandemic, several important contracts were signed “which allowed us to have other doors open” with the production of masks, with which they supported sectors such as Ministry of the Interior, Health, Total, Universities, Public Television of Angola (TPA) and some vulnerable families.
“The challenges are enormous, we had several barriers, which have to do with the fall in the dollar and the stop in the supply of raw materials to facilitate our exercise, but hope was the last thing to die. We managed to stand firm (…)”, she emphasized.
In addition to Luanda, the MME network is implemented in Bengo, Cuanza-Sul, Huambo and Bié, where they supply embroidery materials to some local health institutes.
ANGOP journalists
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