From journalist in a communications agency in Rome to the first Western entrepreneur in Oman where she created 'Tricolore' from nothing, a company that has 11 employees and 3 collaborators: it is the story of Caterina Carannante, 45 years old, born in Naples, today the head of a company that brings the excellence of Italian ceramics to the homes of Muscat.
"It was certainly an exciting challenge - she says - to launch myself into the world of entrepreneurship in my early thirties in an Arab country which at the time definitely had many more barriers to entry, especially for a woman. I set up the company in December 2011 and, as per procedure, I applied to the Omani Ministry of Labor for a work visa as a company director. Several weeks of waiting later, my application was rejected, not for discrimination but simply because it was the first time the ministry was faced with a request from a Western woman to fill a position of that type. In general, however, my being a woman has never represented an obstacle and the Omani people by their nature are very friendly towards foreigners ".
"I discovered Oman in 2006 - says Caterina - at the time I was working in Rome as a professional journalist in a communications agency specializing in public affairs. The Omani government had announced a plan to privatize the electricity sector and a of our clients were interested in getting in touch with the relevant authorities to explore the possibility of acquiring a shareholding. I remember the day when the director called me to his office and proposed that I leave for the Middle East; then my trips to Muscat became more frequent. 2009 was the turning point year: I resigned from the agency where I worked and moved full time to the Sultanate. I had in mind to start a business development and international trade activity, to facilitate the entry of Italian companies into the Omani market. The project was to create a stable bridge between Italy and Oman with a fixed presence in both countries and I contacted a former colleague of mine, Carlo D'Andrea, proposing him to operate as a base in Italy.
Thus began an intense, tiring and exciting period, which led us to found "Tricolore International" in 2011.
Born as a consultancy company, we then entered the world of distribution, focusing in particular on Made in Italy products in the interior design supply chain". In 2018 they finally launched "Tricolore Italian Tiles", inaugurating the first and only showroom entirely dedicated to Italian ceramics, the majority of which comes from the Sassuolo district. To date, Tricolore has imported from Italy and supplied over three hundred thousand square meters of tiles to Oman, intended for residential, tourist and commercial projects. In the residential sector, the company caters to a medium-high market segment, mainly made up of Omani families who are building their villas and who are looking for design and quality products: they are customers who have almost always visited Italy and attribute an iconic value to Made in Italy
. On the contract front, the company is present in some projects considered among the most prestigious in the Sultanate: for example, in 2022 it completed the supply of approximately 40 thousand square meters of tiles for luxury hotels and resorts.
"At the urging of our customers, we have decided to expand and diversify our product range and with the architect Luca Ungaro the dream is to create tailor-made villas", custom-designed with attention to detail and capable of transporting Omani customers into Italian vision of living.
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