In the early 1990s, Mohamed Antri Bouzar began listening seriously to his friends who were talking about computer equipment and how this PC or that technological advance was something they would love to get their hands on. It occurred to him that getting into the IT distribution business for new technologies—and, specifically, computer equipment—might provide an opportunity for a new business. So he started Algeria Business Multimedia (ABM), a wholesaler of personal computers and related equipment, such as networking and Internet equipment.

What ABM offers its customers is the widest range of computer products in Algeria—it represents nearly every major brand of equipment currently on the market worldwide. The company is known for offering good products at good prices. And what makes ABM stand out is that it maintains a strong inventory of the latest and greatest items so customers do not have to wait to get what they want. Antri Bouzar, who imports all of these products from overseas, says, “The advantage we have over our competitors is that we reduce the lead time between when a new product comes out and when our customers can get their hands on it. And because we are a big importer, we can afford to offer good prices, which brings our customers back.”

But Mohamed’s route to entrepreneurship was not a direct one. He studied at the National Polytechnic Institute in Algiers, where he earned a degree in civil engineering. While a student, he worked with his father and brothers in the family jewelry business, traveling and doing a lot of sales work for them. “After I finished my studies, I had to do to two years of national service in the army. Then I was considering using my civil engineering degree to start up a consultancy. But in the 1990s,  it was not possible to simply start up a private business in that sector. This was still a socialist country back then with a lot of bureaucracy that made it difficult if not impossible for a young entrepreneur to get a foothold. There was no real information about the sector to study, no state or public data available to determine if such a consultancy was even viable. On the other hand, we were definitely moving away from socialism toward an open, market-oriented economy and I saw that the market for PCs was expanding. I just knew there was something there for me.”

Antri Bouzar says that when he started ABM, he did not recognize the potential risks involved. “I came from a family of entrepreneurs. My grandfather was an entrepreneur in real estate and had always done very well. My father was also an entrepreneur, eventually becoming one of the biggest jewelers in Algeria. But it was really always my mother’s father whose footsteps I wanted to follow in.” Bouzar’s take on being an entrepreneur was that it was “some sort of an adventure, setting out on my own. I felt that I was taking a calculated risk, and if I failed, I could always go back to being a civil engineer or work in the family jewelry business.” He had accumulated some capital of his own, and though he could have received financial help from his family, he chose to start the business on his own.

But Antri Bouzar faced other challenges and risks on the pathway to becoming an entrepreneur—Algeria at the time was changing politically, and the environment was not very encouraging for someone wanting to start and build a business. Says Antri Bouzar, “When we were still a socialist country, anyone doing business had to be careful not to succeed too visibly, to keep a low profile. If one showed off wealth in any conspicuous manner, there was the possibility of being targeted. Obvious wealth was not viewed in the best light. There was also the threat of terrorism, which was prevalent in the early 1990s in Algeria.”

As is the case for many founders of new businesses, when he first started out, Mohamed did everything that needed to be done himself. He handled sales, inventory, and ordering, and he personally took care of all administrative tasks. Things are much different today—Algeria Business Multimedia now employs about fifty people. As he added employees, his willingness to personally get involved in any work task or duty led to a very democratic workplace. According to Antri Bouzar, “The working atmosphere at ABM is not hierarchy bound; we all do whatever needs to be done. We are all on a first-name basis. Information is circulated very freely and very quickly, so we are not bogged down by hierarchy and bureaucracy. I always make sure that my employees have everything they need to do their jobs well and that they have good working conditions. My employees come from every walk of life, so there is a rich mixture. This richness contributes to the social exchanges between the employees, as well. We are all members of the same family here, so if there is something to celebrate, we celebrate together. If someone is going through a personal crisis, we all help out.”

Employee turnover can be an issue for any business—it’s an ongoing challenge to recruit the very best people, and then to keep them. To give his employees a reason to stay, Antri Bouzar rewards them with performance-based incentives, as well as bonuses. But he believes that providing employees with salaries that allow them to live well is the first step, and perhaps the most important. “We have evaluations of work performance every three months, and we provide opportunities for further development so that employees can grow in their jobs and advance within the organization. We also advertise open positions internally first, so we can try to promote from the inside before recruiting from outside.”

In order to recruit new employees, ABM keeps very close ties with universities that teach the courses his employees need to have. The company visits these universities frequently to find potential recruits. Says Mohamed, “While resumes or curriculum vitas are important, we also interview job candidates closely to see how they might fit in to the atmosphere here—whether they will make a positive or negative contribution.”

Typical of many entrepreneurs, Mohamed can often turn a seemingly bad situation into a good one. “I built a new building specifically to house the company, but we did not immediately need to use the entire building. So I rented out the extra space to a major French bank that was looking to get a toehold in Algiers. Eventually I ended up renting the entire space to the bank and then built another building. As a result of that, I was able to increase my capital while building a good relationship with the bank. Later, I was able to get credit to buy another lot so that I could build another building. What this did was introduce me to the field of real estate and brought me back in part to my original training as a civil engineer. As I look back on the evolution of all this, I see that an opportunity was created and now I have both a computer wholesale company as well as a new enterprise in real estate.”

But Antri Bouzar’s road to success as an entrepreneur has not always been so smooth. One of the major challenges he faced occurred during a period of growth in the company, when he was in need of capital. At the time, investment capital in Algeria was extremely difficult to obtain—the country had a tiny stock market, there were no investment funds, and there existed no financial markets to speak of. So he found a partner but, according to Mohamed, “It wasn’t the right sort of partner. The person turned out not to be on the level. I don’t believe my error was in seeking capital, but in making a poor choice in choosing a partner.” How did he deal with his mistake? “I still needed capital, so when I started looking again, I was much more careful to research where the company came from, how available the funds really were, and the reputation of the people running the company.”

Today, Mohamed works with a number of private banks to obtain the financing he needs to operate and grow the business. “In those days, when you wanted a loan from the bank, you always had to give a guarantee, such as property, as a form of collateral. So my father used some of his real estate as collateral. We wanted to show that having borrowed money from the bank, we were credible—that we could pay it back, that we were doing good business.” Antri Bouzar has relationships with several industrial partners which has allowed him to both grow his business and improve his asset standing. Suppliers provide the company with credit lines, which has also reduced some of the financial risk to his business, while providing a better overall financial status for the company. Financial partners provide certain advantages, to be sure, but, as Antri Bouzar notes, “The downside is the possibility of making a bad choice of investor or partner who may in fact slow down our investments. They may not have the same vision for the company or the same goals, ultimately, and that can turn out to be a real problem.”

Another challenge facing Bouzar today is the need to invest more in the development of the company. “I want to remain a leader in the field, which means that we need to be able to respond and adapt to the market, and we need to be aware of everything that is going on in this field. This means that I personally need to take time to concentrate on these issues and to work out potential long-term solutions. ABM’s current challenge is to develop services in the IT field, starting with after-sales service like maintenance and repair and leading to consulting and implementation.  At the same time, I need to set things up such that if I were to leave one day, the company would still succeed and flourish without me. I would one day like ABM to be quoted on the Algerian stock exchange, even though it is very small.”

When asked his advice to other entrepreneurs who might follow in his path, Mohamed Antri Bouzar says, “I had not chosen to go to school and learn about management before I started this business, so I had to learn everything in the field by doing and practicing. This took a lot of time and I learned many hard lessons by trial and error. I think it would almost certainly be better to participate in a major management training program—either before starting up a new business, or soon afterwards.” But, no matter—Mohamed Antri Bouzar followed his dream and has achieved all that he had ever hoped for, and perhaps even a little more. And, one thing is for sure: Mohamed’s grandfather and father—both successful entrepreneurs before him—would certainly be very proud of him today.