[Interview] Miguel Dias, Founder and CEO, CEO World, Global
Miguel Dias is a Portuguese entrepreneur. He founded The Minders and International Minds in Finland, Porto. He also served as CEO of mm+a Branding. He is currently the founder and CEO of CEO World.
His interview with Africa Business Communities:
Would you please introduce CEO World?
CEO World is a community of CEOs, future CEOs, and ‘C’-suite executives who use CEO World’s services to share their challenges, opportunities and objectives to improve their managerial decision-making.
We believe that the process of sharing knowledge and experience in a confidential and trusting environment with people who understand the executive’s context enables us to make ‘1+1= 10’
In which industries does CEO World operate and who are your clients?
We operate in all industries. Our clients range from small to medium organisations to larger organisations.
Where our clients are not employees within their organisations, they tend to be founders/owners of their own organisations.
What are the USP’s of your business?
Bringing together the experience and wisdom of CEOs, executives and owners in a confidential and trusting environment, regardless of their location around the globe, is a fast, effective and inexpensive way to augment managerial decision-making.
Why was CEO World started?
Simple. To make a difference in the world.
What can be done by entrepreneurs and government to stimulate the business environment in Portugal?
On an individual level, entrepreneurs should network with people and entities up and down the value chain and surround themselves with wise, clever people. They should welcome objections and learn from the essence of their message and not be constrained by the thinking of others. It is a question of adopting the right attitude; challenging the issues assumed by others to be the “givens” and believing in oneself.
On a government level, there’s a lot to be done. Allowing legitimate R&D as tax deductions, establish and fund entrepreneurial Innovation ‘Laboratories’, entrepreneurial cultures in schools and tertiary programs, micro banking for the poor and dispossessed, allow lower costs and charges to firms classified as entrepreneurial for the first 5 years of their life, fostering women in business, to mention a few.
What is inspiring about doing business in/with Africa?
The ability to make a difference by introducing trade, facilitating an exchange of ideas and changing and enhancing communities.
Would you say women entrepreneurs typically have a harder time accessing loans through traditional bank channels?
Yes. The role of women is largely culturally defined and constrained. Enabling women to access finance increases the chances of changing social and economic environments and conditions for the better.
Do you believe Social Media and the Internet to be a plus to the business environment, as it applies to your industry?
Social Media and the use of the Internet is a product of emerging technologies and increasing access to and by mainstream community. The constituency of our company understands and uses these channels extensively. Our products are entirely delivered over the Internet.
Ignoring its capabilities, and challenges, in context, is a short-sighted view.
How does the economic health of Portugal affect CEO World?
Our business is not based on any one country’s economy as such, as we operate globally. We find the economic health of the global economy varies enormously at any point in time. While one economy is growing rapidly, others are stagnant or in recession. While some African economies are booming others are stagnant.
As an example, Europe is struggling at the moment while India is enjoying strong growth.
Which African countries will perform best in 2015?
This depends on the criteria you use to measure performance. If one uses Terms of Trade as the measure, then the World Bank concludes that there are a small group of African nations that have proven to be more resilient to largely commodity Terms of Trade impacts (oil and non-oil [commodity] impacts). These include Botswana, Eritrea, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia.
Each of these countries demonstrates resilience for a range of reasons including oil prices, exchange rates, conflict and commodity prices. (Ref: Africa’s Pulse, April 2015, Volume 11)
Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with CEO's and high-end professionals from and/or operating in Africa. Are you interested in an interview? Please send an e-mail to andrea@africabusinesscommunities.com