What strategy did you have to use to achieve success in your business during the hardest times in Peru, in the midst of a prolonged war between the State and the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso)?

We lived through turbulent times in the 80s, when my family detected a business opportunity with soft drinks, inaccessible in Peru due to the action of the terrorist group that attacked trucks. I came to be immersed in the middle of a confrontation between the Shining Path and the Army. To have come out of the terrorist period in Ayacucho with flying colors was complex and I acquired the fundamental principle of business performance thanks to my mother, who instilled in me the concept of modeling (example). 

When you want to do something, just to command does not work. Working and sacrificing with your people, in a team, with a whole staff that radiates good spirit, allows you to gain a certain degree of authority and respect. The self-esteem of my employees is the success of my companies. Without dreams and hope you can't build a solid team.

What challenges have you faced in your career and how did you feel the desire to conquer Peru in the midst of the Shining Path's operations?

I think that living in the Andes, at a time marked by terrorism, allowed me to know that when you have lost everything, fear disappears. And working tirelessly, hand in hand, and setting an example, has made integrity my great value.

In Latin America, we could observe countries with the sensation of an absence of moral reserve, but this is not the case. There are very valuable but invisible people. We see the negative side and I do not lose hope to give visibility to the other side of Latin America.

What is your vision for the future of the restaurant and food industry in Peru?

I would like it to be known that potatoes, Peru's contribution to humanity, are of Peruvian origin. The project of native potatoes "Tiyapuy" Andean, organic, without hormones or insecticides, was born in 2017, with my dream of entrepreneurship in Peru. 

I am founder of AJE GROUP that operates in 27 countries, with 40 factories in the world. In 2017 I left the company when the desire to help Ayacucho was born. I realized that our economic, safety and health indicators placed us at the tail end of the Region. 

I created a foundation to generate decent employment and put into operation, -as I say-, the potato project. With plantations at 3,600 meters above sea level and a potential of 300,000 hectares, I claim that potatoes are Peruvian, just as champagne is French.

How can the public and private sectors work together to improve the tourism experience in Peru?

In 2020, AJE GROUP is changing its corporate identity to highlight its commitment to the environment. One of the efforts is oriented in this direction, so a Spanish group has made a donation of 700 pieces of equipment for forest firefighters. In Peru, we are developing training programs in the jungle area that we want to take care of. Certainly, there is a lot to do and other priorities in the High Andes. My dream is to help the Peruvian jungle communities to develop economically.

How does your company integrate social responsibility and sustainability practices?

I want to improve the quality of life in the High Andes. I want Peruvians to have the opportunity to keep dreaming. Jobs in agriculture amount to 2.5 million people. If we managed to distribute potatoes around the world, tens of thousands of hectares would generate hundreds of thousands of jobs. If we value 300,000 hectares, we would create more than one million jobs. The plantations, which are planted once a year, at 3,600 meters above sea level, are irrigated with rainwater. We use the fallow concept, and with the greening of the meadows, we improve the rain cycle.

How can Peru's tourism offer be diversified to attract different types of tourists?

In 2016, Ayacucho received a total of 56,000 tourists on three flights per week. We have reached 300,000 tourists per year and seven daily flights. Ayacucho absorbs more than 32 tourist destinations. 

We are prepared for much more. Tourism boosts the economy and at the same time, allows us to consume the jewels of the High Andes, gastronomy, customs, and a specific way of living together. The two axes of transformation are agriculture and tourism. 

I am talking about national tourism, although what we are implementing are strategies to attract foreign tourism so that they can get to know the 20,000 years of Ayacucho's history, still to be told.

What advice would you give to the young entrepreneur who wants to enter the restaurant and tourism sector and has to face serious obstacles like you?

Human beings, despite having lived traumatic experiences in life, manage to overcome them. We have a great capacity for resilience and we do not know what we are capable of achieving in hard times like the ones I lived through with the Shining Path. In the 80's, I felt a great fear. Fear that paralyzed me but that also served as a great push in my business success, so I want to give value to Ayacucho, the region where Peru was born, with 20,000 years of history, as a book, whose pages about Peru are still to be narrated. 

I want to give back to my country what my country gave to me. My advice: work side by side with your employees to earn their respect.

Author: Carmen Chamorro

Director of CIP and ACPE. 

Diploma in International Relations and Global Terrorism from the SEI