Fernando is an entrepreneur like no other; he was one of the founding members of AIESEC in Mozambique when the initiative began in 1999. Over the past few years, Fernando has started several companies in Portugal and Mozambique. His first project in 2001 was On-Spot Marketing, which was the first campus marketing agency in Portugal. In 2002, he started his second company; Q21 is a consultancy company and he founded together with another AIESEC Alumnus. It was in 2005 when he initiated Kulunga in Mozambique, a market research and training company which recently merged with Portugal’s largest market research agency. In 2007, Fernando started Weekeego, which is a platform to promote community tourism. 34 years old
Fernando Mendes BLUE GO Owner and Business Developer Portugal
Fernando’s favourite quote: “If
In the past two years, Fernando started two new initiatives: Patamar is a platform for entrepreneurs in Mozambique, which may be recent but is already supporting six companies in Maputo. His second initiative is CoWork Lab, which is a space for entrepreneurs seeking a collaborative environment in Lisbon. AIESEC still has a lot of impact on Fernando’s daily life. His newest venture is with two fellow alumni, both of whom were Presidents of AIESEC in Portugal. ”AIESEC was the most important school I attended, which is to say the least,“ he recalls, ”The leadership positions I held in AIESEC, especially as President of AIESEC in Portugal, were crucial to build up my self-confidence, develop a strong personal vision and train a portfolio of soft skills.”
I would have asked people what they wanted they would have said faster horses.” Henry Ford
Ted’s favourite quote: “What
you are must always displease you if you are to attain that which you are not.” St. Augustine After his year on the national staff of AIESEC Canada in 1997-1998, Ted participated in AIESEC’s internship programme, taking a position with Delta Marketing, the Latvian office of advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather. In 1999, Ted co-founded Incite Solutions Inc. with Jared Smith (also an AIESEC Alumni). Based in Edmonton, Incite Solutions is an outsourced marketing company that specialises in relationship management and B2B marketing. Incite Solutions won the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Small Business Owners of The Year Award in 2004 and the BDC Alberta Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008. “During my university career 80% of everything I learnt, I learnt in AIESEC. AIESEC was an organisation that gave people the chance to learn about the world and their community. It gave them the opportunity to develop and grow; to make mistakes, 36 years old learn from them and move on. Without this organisation, I wouldn’t have been able to develop my business network at such a young age and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to start my own business right after my internship. AIESEC Incite Solutions gave me the tools to become a young entrepreneur and to do Principal something in which I believed.” Canada
Ted Kouri
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