Let’s Start the Interview:
The Worlds Times: Explain your background and your Company’s in detail.
Michael Adjei: Michael is an International Business Development Expert with Órama Corporate Services – a bespoke management company headquartered in Mauritius.
Born in Ghana and currently a resident of Mauritius, my journey began as a business development professional in the International Financial Advisory services industry, working closely with High Net Worth and Ultra High Net worth Individuals with several internationally renowned offshore financial institutions across many jurisdictions which gave me exposure to a diverse background, knowledge and experience. Although very instrumental in developing businesses from start-ups to IPOs globally, the journey to this point would rather reveal a different version of me- a wild, fearless and brave professional, very appreciative and patriotic of his motherland -Africa, curiously probing and engaging the right people with the right questions as to why the continent was lagging behind and eventually developed the zeal and passion to contribute my quota by utilising my experience, skills and knowledge in any ways possible to help improve and develop the continent.
Órama Corporate Services (“Órama”) is a management company licenced by the financial service commission of Mauritius-the regulatory authority of corporate entities in Mauritius. Management Companies (MCs) are service providers which help businesses to grow internationally by using Mauritius as an efficient platform. – Óramahas a strong Pan-African leadership accompanied with a vision dedicated to helping businesses in Africa and take advantage of Africa’s very own reputable International Financial Center- Mauritius. The island enables a sustainable business growth and efficiently, to different jurisdictions tax efficiently, courtesy of the Several double taxation avoidance treaties and Investor Protection Agreements that Mauritius has in place as well as the sophisticated tax regime, presence of internationally recognized financial institutions, strong banking infrastructure and its internationally compliant regime amongst others. These advantages enable investors in Africa to easily access capital and business support through a number of investment vehicles and regulatory policies conducive to thrive businesses.
Órama has a vision of how businesses should grow in the 21st century, and shares the belief that people, entrepreneurs and corporations are the tools the world needs to build true sustainability. We are working to build a free-trade continent that can regain its influence within global markets, and provide its entrepreneurs, companies and investors with the opportunities to thrive and shape a prosperous future.
The Worlds Times: What are your goals?
Michael Adjei: My goal is to become an ambassador for African Businesses- the go-to person in Africa , bridging the gap between Africa and the rest of the world, representing the African business community and consolidating the voices into favorable policy making machinery that creates a conducive environment to thrive African businesses, bringing prosperity for all, economic independence, reducing poverty, and improving infrastructural development and livelihood for all Africans.
The Worlds Times: What do you feel is the biggest strength of ORAMA CORPORATE SERVICES right now?
Michael Adjei: Their in-depth knowledge about the terrain of the continent when it comes to doing business regarding the several government policies in place in all 54 countries on the continent and its ability to help client navigate against the odds with pragmatic life changing permanent and cost-effective solutions- The team, with the use of technology and proper compliance framework to help facilitate business and ultimately their attention to detail on clients’ needs and ability to come up with bespoke solutions for them.
The Worlds Times: What was the path you took to get to where you are today?
Michael Adjei: A journey filled with lessons, disappointments, mentorship, self-belief, confidence, losses, faith, perseverance, acceptance of thyself and acknowledgement of thy strength and weaknesses, resilience, ability to adapt and learn quickly, set principles, exposure, determination, focus, positive mental attitude, constant reeducation of the mind, humility and a strong will to not give up but above all trust in God. A combination of several amongst others the above ingredients makes a magic potion that transforms a mere man into a superhuman. It’s a path that either makes or breaks you. A journey of no return, where I was determined to burn the ship and not look back to any alternative retreat but to only forge ahead.
The Worlds Times: Why did you start ORAMA?
Michael Adjei: Well, there is a saying that if you don’t know where you are going-any direction can take you. The company is one of the very few management companies in Mauritius that is Africa centric with a focus on empowering African businesses to grow sustainably with a long-term plan of reducing poverty and unemployment in Africa. It has Pan African Leaders with a clear vision and passion to support the people of Africa. That for me is a moving train to jump on- we share similar visions and aspirations coupled with it diversified yet conducive working environment. We understand that it’s a business and profit must be the ultimate priority, however at Órama it’s the attention to details of clients’ needs and the willingness to see their business succeed that matters and is the overriding factor. We genuinely care about providing solutions for our clients and seeing them smile.
The Worlds Times: What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome during the journey of your leadership?
Michael Adjei: Decisions made out of emotions rather than facts and consciousness and the fear of rejection or not accepted. Quite often as you climb the ladder of leadership to your destination you will realize not all the people you started with have the same final destination as you and you can’t carry dead weights. You are burdened with emotions so heavy that can affect your decisions, however keeping a clear focus and deciding on the facts is crucial to moving forward to your next step. Also understanding that not everyone will accept you for who you are or appreciate your gift and skills no matter how much you try to put in or how good you are is important and that shouldn’t impact you. Often, I was hit with the fear of rejection no matter how hard I put in and would coil me back to my shells until I realized my true potentials. When you realize you are your number one fan, and you are all you need to survive and rely on then you have no limitations and begin to appreciate yourself more- the sky is no limit for you.
The Worlds Times: What are some of the benefits to the companies you have helped setup in Mauritius.
Michael Adjei: Thanks to Órama today we are proud to say we have put smiles on many entrepreneurs’ faces. The benefits of our advice and services to our client are enormous. We have helped client with structures that has enabled them easily access capital for their business, we have also helped clients with structures that efficiently saved them several hundreds of thousands of us dollars on taxes, we have helped client with access to internationally recognized banks in a jurisdiction with high level banking infrastructure and no foreign exchange control policies, enabling them efficiency on their financial transaction. Also, one of the crucial benefits to all our client is the ability to smoothly transact on cross border dealings with limited stress on compliance and limitations because of the compliant nature of Mauritius. We have helped client gain preferential access to markets giving them access to hundreds of millions of customers, we have helped client who were otherwise struggling with investor protection have access to some of the best investor protection schemes in the world. We have had client in the manufacturing industry save a lot on electricity and water while having abundant and constant access to them coupled with high quality but low-cost labor, while operating in a politically and socio-economically stable environment where the rule of law truly exists. Ultimately, we have helped clients protect their legacy with trust instruments and vehicles that has placed their beneficiaries in good hands while consolidating and managing all their assets tax efficiently. The list goes on and on.
What do you value the most about ÓRAMA vision?
Michael Adjei: The sense of urgency in helping Africa realize its true potential and helping businesses in Africa navigate through the choppy waters of doing business in the region by providing them with practical solutions and, modern vehicles or instruments that have stood the test of time, very efficient and enables their businesses operations to thrive in a conducive environment without interruptions.
The Worlds Times: What are the strategies of ÓRAMA and how do you stand unique from your competitors?
Michael Adjei: Órama is amongst the very few management companies in Mauritius if not the only one who understands the African market very well and has immersed itself within it. Building a solid reputation and relationship with its clients and stake holders while holding their hands through every step of the journey. The company has very unique and dedicated work force with unique skill sets and I think credit goes to the Keseena Chengadu the CEO for carefully identifying and selecting such talents and being able to merge them together to drive the companies objectives and visions. Every client is considered unique and treated with special care with a special attention team member assigned to his needs- this cannot be compromised. Team Training is also very crucial, with changing times and policies around Africa we work closely and strategically with high end lawyers, industry experts and stakeholders to constantly refurbish our team members with industry knowledge and updates and trends this ensures our clients are always upto date with current issues that can impact their business.
The Worlds Times: What are the key values which helped you to overcome the challenges in your path? Tell us something about your memorable incident in your leadership?
Michael Adjei: Staying true to yourself and realizing your mind is the only true limitation to whatever you aspire to achieve is very important. Life will test you in all angles and directions to find out how prepared and determined your goals mean to you. In the end it is how bad you truly want to achieve it coupled with how prepared you are to receive it is what will get you there. Opportunities come often in disguised forms-and having the eyes and patience to determine a rough diamond from a mere stone is a craft to master on celestial dimensional level which brings me to the importance of my connectivity with my God, however the ultimate revelation for me is how the thought process manifests into our realities. Controlling your thoughts and protecting them from negative surroundings are very crucial. I am a result and in the making of everything I have ever dreamed and thought off. You are not responsible for where you are born and start your journey but you are responsible for where and how you end or finish it.
The Worlds Times: How do you see the company changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
Michael Adjei: We intend to grow our client base tremendously with even more focus on client needs and close view on industry trends and changes. We are also looking at a global presence in several countries whilst including technological mix blending with a compliance culture in our operations and services offerings. As head of business development, my role is to find the right mix that will enhance efficiency and client satisfaction in the shortest time span while leveraging on the right activities to ensure we have a solid foot holding the region we intend expand our presence as well as improving the teams performance and knowledge to keep up with our clients needs.
The Worlds Times: What benefits are your clients getting from ORAMA in this competitive world?
Michael Adjei: We offer our clients world class- high quality advisory services and real life business solutions that enables them to stand tall and compete globally with giant multinational companies, starting with access to highly recognized financial institutions and banking facilities as well as a well-developed banking infrastructure and investment vehicles that allows them the, platform, flexibility, incentives and leverage to access capital, attract investors and transact across borders with ease. We also offer them the platform to restructure their entities which allows them the status of a global business as opposed to the local business title and access to a whole new market but most importantly Mauritius offers them that spring board to easily expand their presence and operations to several jurisdictions tax efficiently courtesy of the muti lateral treaties it has available including world class investor protections, a conducive environment to grow their business, effectively manage and protect their legacy for generations to come. Three key services we provide are Company incorporation/administration services, Trust and Fund administration services.
The Worlds Times: Would you like to say anything else to our viewers?
Michael Adjei: Growing your business sustainably is far easier than you imagine, Mauritius offers more to your business than just a tourist destination. It is Africa’s own globally recognized and reputable International Financial Centre that offers business leverage to compete globally. Be it banking, infrastructure, foreign exchange control policies, expansion, investors, capital, political, social and economic stability, constant and affordable access to energy or electricity and water, lower and competitive tax rates, strong government policies to enhance business growth, investor protection, adherence to international compliant standards, security, Mauritius is the gate way to Africa and we at Órama have the keys to the gate.
Contact us at info@oramacorporate.com or ma@oramacorporate.com by email or +230.52529008 /+230.57318545. you can also visit our website at www.oramacorporate.com
Connect Michael Adjei on Linkedin
