Business Leading the Business Community

Ahmed Bazara, head of the Bazara Group of companies, including AISCO and AMTC, sat down with

Yemen Today to discuss his group’s evolving business and charitable ventures, including Islamic banking and insurance, fisheries, pioneering industrialization.

Yemen Today: How has the Bazara group of companies evolved?
Ahmed Bazara: We at AMTC have traditionally been in the trading business, mainly focused on cars and automobiles. This was the family focus for over fifty years.
Even before that, the Bazara family has been in trading for over 200 years. Their activities extended outside Yemen a long time ago. But since 1950 we’ve been involved in the automobile business only. About ten years ago, we made a decision to diversify our activities. So we started with the Shamil Bank of Yemen and Bahrain as our first financial investment.

YT: Can you tell me more about the bank?
AB: We’re basically the founders of the Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain; our group holds 20 percent. Although it’s been seven years, we are actually the newest bank in Yemen. We thought that Islamic finance and banking services were needed in the market. Of Yemen’s sixteen banks, four are Islamic. You would be surprised to see that these four Islamic banks account for almost 50 percent of all deposits in the country. They are really contributing to the economy of the country, because they aren’t gambling with the money. We are investing back in the country, in industry and trade. We are taking risks, but getting great returns. We also started an Islamic insurance company in 2004, of which I am the vice chairman. It is the first Yemeni Islamic insurance company.

What kind of insurance does it provide?
Everything. A wide range of insurance products. It’s called the Yemeni Islamic Insurance Company; it started in 2004. We are one of the partners, along with the four Islamic banks, and some other businesspeople. Its business is very complementary to the business of Islamic banks.

YT: Can you tell me more about your group’s diversification?
AB: We became a partner of Burum Fisheries in 2004. Burum is the largest fishery exporter in Yemen. We export all kinds of frozen fish and fresh fish, from its base in Hadhramaut. The quality of Burum fisheries is very well known in the European market. We were the first to get European approval to export to the European market. We have FDA approval as well for the US, although we haven’t begun that all the way.
In addition to the fisheries, the bank, and the Islamic insurance company, there is the University of Science and Technology, and our industrial projects, under the Arab Iron and Steel Corporation [AISCO]. We started AISCO in 2005; our group owns 51 percent. It was a policy to diversify. Although I grew up with Toyota cars, in the last ten years I’ve started to look after these new investments.

YT: What’s your involvement with the University of Science and Technology?
AB: I was involved with the university from the beginning. We started it in 1993, with a group of other people. It came out of a charitable organization. We also started the university hospital, which we launched in 2005. We’re doing our best, but there is always room for improvement.

YT: What have been your keys to success?
AB: By the grace of God, this is number one. Secondly, Yemen has excellent business opportunities. Yemen’s wealth is untapped. We can see a lot of potential. The market is ready. There is big room to work in each and every area. There is almost no industry in Yemen. We have just started. For example, there is huge potential for financial services, because the money in Yemen is in people’s hands, not in the banks.

YT: What steps are needed to improve the economy?
AB: We have to work hard on the major industries that can provide more jobs for Yemenis. Once we have these big projects that will generate income for people. We need to train our workers, and prepare our workforce for the local and regional markets. The government definitely has to invest in industrial zones and improve the investment climate.

YT: Speaking of industrial zones, what has been your experience working in the Aden Free Zone?
AB: We were the first to start in the Aden Free Zone, actually, with AISCO in 2005. It’s been a very nice experience. The Aden Free Zone is one of the bright areas in the Yemeni economy. From our first proposal to construction, the whole project took off in ten months, very quick.

YT: What can you tell me about the Yemeni Businessmen Club?
AB: I am the president of the Yemeni Businessmen’s Club, and I’m a board member of the Sana’a Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest chamber of commerce in the country. I’ve also been the vice-chairman for some time. The Yemeni Businessmen club is about seven years old, and it’s focused on young, well educated, successful businessmen. We have about 140 members. The best thing is that they don’t chew qat!
A good number of our members are second generation of the large business families in Yemen. We aren’t like chambers of commerce, who are busy arguing with the government over small details. We have more focused and specialized issues. For example we’ve worked with different government organizations as well as NGOs on corporate governance guidelines…It’s the first guideline in Yemen regarding corporate governance. Now we’re working with the Central Bank to provide specialized governance guidelines for banks. We are working with family businesses, and organized the first family business conference in Yemen about two years back. This year we’re having the second conference. We are also getting women involved in the businessmen’s club.

YT: What charitable activities is your group involved in?
AB: We think this work is complementary to the business operations…I’m the secretary-general of the National Cancer Control Foundation. There is also another one that has to do with women and children, SOUL for Development. I’m the president and one among other founders, it’s been 13 years. We are a development organization. We do research, studies, and training, especially training for women. We deal with international organizations and donor countries. It’s a very good model of an NGO, and it’s very well respected.
I’m also a board member in the Disabled Fund. The government collects small duties from different places, and we take this money to support different programs for disabilities in Yemen. We have several partners…We recently decided to form the Bazara Charitable and Development Foundation; all of our contributions will be channelized through this foundation.