World Despachos: Providing Customs Clearance Services Since 2011

Interview with Lizete Inalda Dulobo, Client Manager at World Despachos

Could you start by presenting World Despachos?

We are a dispatch agent, which means that we deal with customs and handle imports and exports. We manage all the cargo coming both in and out of Mozambique.

When I look at World Despachos, I look at the name itself, World, and I wish that tomorrow our company would deal with every import and export here in Mozambique, and probably abroad as well.

How would you define a dispatch agent exactly?

When your cargo comes from outside, we call that an import cargo to Mozambique. We deal with all the issues that you have to go through, such as customs clearance, duties to pay, warehouses, etc. We handle the MCNet (Mozambique Community Network), we put all the documentation through, and we ask you to pay the resulting duties. Then you can pay if you are able to, or we agree that World Despachos will pay in advance and that you will pay us later. So we handle the whole customs process.

Why should someone choose World Despachos instead of another company?

Most of the companies in Mozambique do not pay the duties on behalf of the clients. In fact, we can safely say that we are the only company that does. What happens with other companies is that when the shipment comes, they give the quotation to their clients. So the company won’t cover payment on their behalf. We do not follow this model. As long as we have an agreement with you, and you agree to pay what is due, you can still go ahead. We pay for everything and we will leave the shipment at your door if that is what you request.

Another big advantage is the fact that we are located at the airport. All the cargo ends here at the airport, and because we are the first on the scene, we never have to wait until tomorrow. When the plane arrives we obviously know right there and then whether your cargo has arrived or not, and we can notify you accordingly. If it has not arrived we just let you know that we will see it safely onto the next flight. The other agents, by contrast, have to travel to the airport to find all of this information.

Are there any specific clients that you deal with most often, ones that are more suited to your speciality?

In fact, when dealing with clearance, I would say that almost all our clients are important. Everything needs to be done for tomorrow – for yesterday, even! Everything was due in yesterday, and nobody wants to pay more than what they should. That being the case, we are actually giving our clients (and whoever comes forward to us to ask for clarification) a set of clear directions; we tell them the way to go and how to deal with the issue so that they will not waste time. It is worth nothing that we do this even for imports and exports, because there are different times for each. In order to export any shipment outside Mozambique, we need to deal with customs. This has to take place not at the airport but rather in town, at the head office, and this takes time. So sometimes we are forced to hand over the documentation and then wait for their reply, which means that we have to station somebody there each and every day, maybe two or three times a day. These individuals pressurise the delivery workers, asking “where is my document?”, pushing it through quickly and saying “I need it asap”. This procedure, for other agents, is quite difficult, because to employ someone simply to hurry the deliverymen is also costly. We, however, are doing just this at ports, at airports, at borders (Machipanda and Ressano Garcia), in the provinces (Beira, Nacala, Nampula, Tete and Pemba). So we are trying our very best to ensure that all of our clients are happy. This is not always an easy task, but we are trying hard.

What are some of the major challenges that you face?

The major challenge is the lack of support from qualified people. It is very difficult to find skilled individuals to get things done easily, without the need for arguments. Everybody is just coming out of school, with no experience at all, and having to start from zero is not an easy task. But we are getting on with the job at hand, training people all the time and trying to make them comfortable. That said, the lack of qualified people is certainly a major challenge here in Mozambique.

What do you have to say about Mozambique as a destination for business, trade, exports and imports?

Mozambique is a great country, a country that is growing day by day. I believe that all foreigners should go and find out more about the country. Mozambique is a fantastic country to invest in. Indeed, there is a lot of investment already coming here. And the people are very friendly also.

What is your vision for the company in two years’ time? If you had a magic wand, what would be your dream for World Despachos?

When I look at World Despachos, I look at the name itself, World, and I wish that tomorrow our company would deal with every import and export here in Mozambique, and probably abroad as well. I would like the company to expand, to broaden its horizons outside the country and explore what is out there. I know that today we very small – the company has only been going for three years – but I hope that, in ten years’ time, I’ll be sitting somewhere abroad and that I’ll be able to say that World is how I got there.

Does this mean that you are looking for investors or partnerships abroad?

Obviously we are looking for partners, because once you start looking abroad it’s a whole new game. So we will look for other companies and partnerships and try to grow. And I can promise you that in five to six years’ time we shall most probably have reached that goal, because we are already looking ahead to these next steps.

In which areas are you looking?

Currently we have a lot of imports from China, and I am very interested in having somebody there. There also also many coming from Japan and India, and we probably look to expand somewhere else. But for the moment I would like to have presence in areas where I can see that business is good, and right now those locations, with the biggest clients and the largest investments, are China and India. But we mustn’t forget Portugal, because the Portuguese are also important here, but not as substantial as India and China.