Amora Industries Ltd
Gateway to Africa
Established in 2015, Amora Industries Ltd was founded by two maritime business management graduates of Southampton Solent who had both run a number of businesses during their studies. Having researched the potential of a continent that had generally been overlooked, Albert Martin initially looked into setting up Amora in 2014 before taking on a ship-brokering role in Dubai. Upon his return to London, Albert continued with his strategy for success in Africa and joined forces with Naby Bangoura, a Guinean with contacts, networking abilities and a mutually strong vision for the continent’s future.
“Naby and I first looked into a project similar to Amora in 2014 when I was still at university and he was running his own firm; we got together to research the continent in more depth, with a specific focus on the opportunities in west Africa and also the connections that Naby already had in place. We started talking to people in the country and realised there was a completely untapped market, apart from the Chinese, for us to enter. Today our main activities involve the supply of heavy industrial machinery, heavy industrial products, building materials and physical commodities,” begins Albert Martin, Director of Amora Industries Ltd.
With Africa’s infrastructure currently lagging behind the rest of the world, there is ample opportunity for businesses operating in the continent to invest and develop in areas such as buildings, roads and power supplies as well as water, transport, mining and telecoms. Both experienced in running a number of small businesses successfully, Naby and Albert have used a forward-thinking approach to ensure Amora’s success in the supply of machinery and heavy equipment to the burgeoning African market. “My associate Naby is originally from Guinea and knows people all over Africa so his role is to source staff and customers and keep in touch with them, while I am very much involved in the operational and supply side of the business,” explains Albert. “We are currently involved in some projects for the government throughout West Africa, but have also seen a lot of interest from wholesalers in the area. Although Chinese companies are operating in the area, we have noticed that the British reputation for high quality goods and quick delivery is a unique selling point for us.”
Indeed, by fulfilling expectations for high quality equipment the flexible firm is quickly proving itself as a reliable market leader in machinery, automotive, construction materials and heavy industries production. Core products within the company’s portfolio include engines, water pumps and generators, as Albert highlights: “We have a number of diesel back-up generators of different sizes and energy outputs available for manufacturing specifications. These can be custom built, which means we can make the equipment more maneuverable or lighter in weight by changing the materials we use inside them. For example, someone in Nigeria may want to buy a load of generators to use on a construction site, so we will custom build these to ensure they have strong cranes or wheels or any other feature the client requires. We have seen that people in Africa have money to buy quality goods and don’t mind paying more to get a better product.”
Although still in its embryonic stage, Amora Industries has already become involved in a major project to supply solar products to individual homes that may be at risk of power failures, as Albert notes: “We recently acquired the services of Craig Jones, the manager of Eco Green, for a project involving the implementation of solar panels and solar street lighting in a couple of countries on the western belt. Craig has a number of years experience in the solar industry and has come up with a solution for us to install in individual homes so people can have back up energy from the solar solutions provided. This is an impressive development as the solution can power entire homes and is the most up-to-date technology in this field.”
As city infrastructure in Africa comes under increasing pressure from population increases and economic growth, the continent is ripe for development. Moreover, Africa has paid attention to the mistakes made by developed areas such as the UK and the US and is ready to build its infrastructure with sustainable, eco friendly solutions that are not only suitable for now, but for the future.
Fully prepared to meet these demands through high quality products, open, transparent conversations and a flexible approach to market demand, Amora Industries is certain to become a leading player within its niche market thanks to its high manufacturing standards and close proximity to customers. “We are soon to open two new offices in Nigeria and another in Cameroon,” says Albert. “We are currently based in London but our workforce is in Guinea, Cameroon, the Congo and Nigeria. This strong network is helpful as people in Africa do business face-to-face and being close to our customers will enable us to get firmly established on the continent, with three or four offices in West Africa by the end of 2015.”
Focused on becoming firmly established in Africa, the company is looking to get involved in bigger contracts and the physical commodities sector with the aim of becoming a household name for superior supply services. “West Africa is just the start for us, we want to branch out into other areas of Africa and get involved in the vast amount of building work going on in the continent and really be part of the change,” concludes Albert.
Amora Industries Ltd
Products: Generators, engines, water pumps and solar products
Issue 122 July 2015