Countless tributes followed the announcement of the death of Abdéali Goulamaly, occurred on October 27. Aged 89, the captain of industry had only reduced activity in recent years, but the group he has built since the creation of the Mauvilac paint manufacturing company in 1970 is experiencing dynamic growth., like the Omega 1 data center commissioned in recent weeks at the Port.
Of Indo-Muslim ancestry, originally from Madagascar, Abdéali Goulamaly was attracted to Reunion when the island was entering departmental modernity, while the Big Island was experiencing the first political upheavals which would lead it into an economic descent into hell. Mauvilac, whose independence it has always preserved in relation to large national and international groups, experienced steady growth as its founder diversified into new businesses. He invested in particular in fishing, with Armament des Mascareignes, and launched a daring shrimp farming project in Mozambique.
Abdéali Goulamaly was also one of the founding members of Adir (the Association for Industrial Development of Reunion Island), in 1975, and chaired it from 1981 to 1987. Attached more than anything to the development of his adopted island, he supported the launch of the first local cartoon creation studio, Pipangaï, alongside Alain Séraphine. Visionary, he “felt” before anyone else the potential of mobile telephony, partnered with SFR and launched GSM in Reunion in 1975. He subsequently separated from his partner to better return to telecommunications by investing in optical fiber and creating Zeop, today challenger of national majors. Nassir and Azmina, his two children, continue their father's work with the same convictions and the same sense of innovation.
