Ethiopia. A land that brings up so many mixed emotions in me. The feeling of pride that comes from recognising a people so dignified, noble and courageous. The feeling of despair and helplessness when I recollect the tales of atrocities committed by the occupying Italians during the fascist era, then the atrocities committed in the context of the communist coup in the period known as red terror; only about 25 years ago. I felt the reality of the fear, exile and persecution that my family underwent throughout these times. I took stock of the humanitarian catastrophes that derived from those latter years of political upheaval. I remember the dulled eyes of hopeless resignation that I witnessed in the eyes of the people I loved when they thought of their homeland. I recall the images that were broadcasted during the great famines.
I knew that the day would come when I would be able to act.
Life led me down a scientific and commercial path, I graduated in Information Systems Engineering at the University of Surrey in the UK. I never lost sight of my determination to resolve the troubles in Ethiopia. Early on in my career, I established Advanced Alchemy a company that accelerates business success in the technology field, and supports giants like Microsoft, IBM and Sun Microsystems, both strategically and tactically from a sales and marketing angle.
When I conceived Advanced Alchemy, I intended it to be a platform for serving the ideal goals represented by Advanced Alchemy World Projects (Alchemy World). The name itself indicates the process of evolution and improvement. Alchemy means one's personal spiritual development. It means creating value in business, it means creating prosperity from an arid base.
With the launch of Alchemy World I feel that I have come to a culmination of my career, and the start of a new life in which I can serve my country with humility and determination; to succeed in the goal of enabling people in Ethiopia to become financially self-sufficient at a personal, local and national level.
Due to the drive that comes from a lifetime of a bottled-up need to act, I have total confidence in the fact that we will meet the goals set out by Alchemy World.
We will do what we must to leave behind a legacy of powerful positive change. When we are on our last legs and we contemplate the course of our lives we will feel the warm glow of satisfaction that comes from the knowledge that our best shot was big enough to help to change the fortunes of Ethiopia.
Carlo Tortora-Brayda di Belvedere
