A VISIONARY PAR EXCELLENCE

Rajesh Dempo is a part of Goa’s biggest legacy and he himself is a self-made man. He has the attributes of a lowprofile, humble personality

Goa with revolutionary ideas which led him to start his own venture “Vision Dempo”. He could have very easily joined his family business, business, standing on the four key industry verticals – Real Estate, Hospitality, Healthcare a n d E d u c a t i o n D o i n g business is one thing and

Dempo’s legacy, and he never compromised on the ‘trust’ factor. His only motto is to serve the community through the highest quality standard and service par excellence.

The Beginning

Rajesh relays that before venturing into Vision Dempo, he started as a management trainee at Dempo Group’s Aparant Iron and Steel

“During that time, I always had in the back of my mind that one day I will start my own venture and so I started investing in land. Of course, during that time I was not sure that it will become so big but once it started there was no looking back. During this time, I also planned to enter into a hospitality project. industry. Luckily one friend of mine told me about one heritage property that was available for sale, which is now known as “The Crown” It was my entry into the hospitality industry. Now I am building a business hotel at Patto and another h e r i t a g e p r o p e r t y i n Fontainhas (Mala) area and it’s going to be one of Goa’s unique Heritage Hotels with spacious rooms and a butler personalised homely service at service. Besides this, we have a five-star property in Morjim on the horizon, but the Crown is always going to be very close to my heart as it was my introduction into the hospitality industry and it is also our flagship property.” and when you meet him, he will never give you the impression of how big he is. Rajesh did his Master's from the United Kingdom and he was back in which was the easy way out a n d a v o i d e d t a k i n g entrepreneurial risks Instead, he used his knowledge and experience to set up his own maintaining core values is another While climbing the ladder of success, Rajesh remained stuck to his core values of being respectful of

Soon Rajesh realised the potential of the education sector and since his family already runs one of the top educational institutes in the state of Goa, it was not difficult for him to get into this too and he founded Dempo Kids with his wife, Bhakti Dempo, who is also the Group Finance Director at Vision Dempo. “The intention behind setting up Dempo Kids was to instil quality education into children. It is an initiative that was launched by at the hands of my father Shri Vishwasrao Dempo. The aim is to bring world-class childcare and skill development programmes for children in the 1-12 years age group. We do have a few other plans in the pipeline to take it to K12 which will be made active in the mining business in Goa but slowly they had diversified into multiple b u s i n e s s e s , f r o m f o o d production to the media industry and their philanthropy does not really need a mention as they had set up Goa’s l a r g e s t e d u c a t i o n a l institutions. Hence when Rajesh was inclined to add

Goa while at the same time keeping in mind the social causes that education and healthcare bring. I decided to take up real estate first and in a s h o r t s p a n o f t i m e I completed several successful projects adding our name to Goa’s topmost developers’ list. Our biggest project was the one that was developed not the centre of Rajesh’s attention when he’s working. He wants to make sure he delivers bespoke projects to his clients individually “We have already completed soldout projects located in the prime locations of Goa such a s P o r v o r i m , M a p u s a , Taleigao, Merces, Assagao, and Arpora. public at the appropriate time,” he said.

After education, he moved into the healthcare sector too.

“Our aim is to bring worldclass treatment facilities into Goa and the idea behind setting up Dempo healthcare is to bring quality and a f f o r d a b l e h e a l t h c a r e services to the people of Goa”.

The Vision Dempo Dempos have been primarily new fields to their portfolio, he kept his legacy and values in mind and started with real e s t a t e d e v e l o p m e n t , hospitality, and education and lately he also moved into the healthcare sector. “I decided to expand my business into the four crucial verticals: real estate, hospitality, education and healthcare because I believe it was the need of the day as real estate and hospitality a booming sector in on the Kadamba Plateau with 200 apartments We have nurtured and developed our brand as a hallmark of quality clubbed with timely delivery and trust. The names of the project I would like to mention here is Vision Galleria in Mapusa, Vision Park in Caranzalem and Vision Dream City at Kadamba Plateau, Vision Luxuria, Vision Bela Vista, Vision Royale to name a few. Making profits is

Tw o m o r e p r o j e c t s a r e u p c o m i n g i n P o r v o r i m / Succoro Vision Palms, a Gated Complex with 2BHK & 3BHK with Club House, Modern amenities and Luxurious Villas, (Launching soon) a project of P r e m i u m Q u a l i t y 4 B H K detached Villas with Maid/ Staff Quarters, Private Pool, two covered Car parks and a private garden. It is the trust of our buyers that help us gain confidence in launching new p r o j e c t s i n u p - m a r k e t locations such as Porvorim, and Taleigao on the horizon” says Rajesh Dempo. We do not bring new projects just for the sole purpose of selling and earning profits Each project is designed to suit the needs of various segments, resulting in a steady flow of sales and high client satisfaction levels. The value of each apartment is set at a level that is within reach of our buyers,” he added.

The Expansion Plans

Now we’ve read how Rajesh has set up all the verticals he’s planned, it's time to look at the education sector goes I have plans of expanding into the K12 sector. We have already started the work on it and soon this project will become a reality. We will also have a music academy on campus.”

When I asked him where his interest in a music academy had originated, he said “my father had an interest in music and I feel that there is a need of nurturing this into the young minds The most important thing is this is that it’s a nonprofit organisation as I don't want to earn profits from education,” he added. M o v i n g o n t o p l a n s o f in all properties built by the Dempos. “Our first preference will always be to keep the Crown branding but in case of a tie-up with any international chains, the Crown will remain in the background which will a l s o g i v e i n t e r n a t i o n a l exposure to our brand. The property in Fountainhas has b e e n n a m e d C r o w n Heritage.”

The Wellness Retreat

growth of those areas. “We will be expanding into the hospitality and health sectors a s w e h a v e a l r e a d y established ourselves very well in the real estate arena. The launch of Dr Digambar’s Vrindavan Hospitals at our Dempo Healthcare property is just the beginning stage of that healthcare expansion plan on the asset-light business model Vrundavan Hospitals is owned and managed by Dr Digambar Naik and his team of doctors with a tie-up from Dempo Healthcare on an asset-light business model. As far as the expansion into the hospitality sector, Rajesh said that he has plans of expanding into this sector and taking his brands into the small towns of India. “Areas near Goa are ideal locations for expansions at the moment. I also have a big plan of taking our brand into Portugal but that may take some time. We also have a piece of land in Mopa but I do not want to rush into that as the best policy at the moment is to wait and watch.

Speaking on the branding of the hotels, he said that the Crown will be the name used

The Wellness Retreat is one of Rajesh’s dream projects. “This property is going to be an ecotourism venture with a wellestablished brand of wellness to be associated with that. I have already s t a r t e d s h o r t l i s t i n g properties in the hinterland of Goa and will set up resorts with well-equipped cottages where w e ’ l l u s e a n international wellness brand to provide a state-of-thea r t w e l l n e s s t r e a t m e n t experience to o u r g u e s t s , ” R a j e s h s a i d adding that he has been working on this project for nearly three years, “It was on hold due to Covid but now we have started working on it again This p r o j e c t i s g o i n g t o b e completely eco-friendly with no concrete used in the construction of the cottages. Instead, we will use mud and wood to build all the cottages. In fact, this will be a first whereby we’ll have an organic farm for our vegetables which will be used by our chefs to prepare food grown by us without the use of chemicals, fertilizers so free from adulteration.”

Rajesh makes a point to say that despite all the expansion plans, his focus will remain on Goa He was very much inspired by the values and philosophy of the life that his father Shri Vishwasrao Dempo believed in and followed them truly. “We are focusing on the Goa market which I am aware is comparatively smaller for the dreams that I have, but I am not in favour of running a f t e r m o n e y a n d j u s t generating profits. I want the community to receive the benefits from our ventures and ‘serving the community’ is my motto I have the same inclination: working for the betterment of the people of Goa.”

Speaking on the expansion plans, Rajesh said this is a process “We believe in innovation because to serve b e t t e r , i n n o v a t i o n i s necessary. We have already made a roadmap and started a d v a n c i n g t o w a r d s development and it is just a matter of time before you will see very good results. The new expansion plans will take our business to a new level I foresee good opportunities and growth, and we will be able to come out of the recession mode by the end of this year,” he said.

For any economy or business to flourish, all external factors s u c h a s g o v e r n a n c e , infrastructure, and stable political setup play a crucial role. So even during the recession, the stability of these elements can eliminate most of the hindrances to the smooth functioning of the state and its economy. Vision Dempo works with the same perspective and aims to serve the local community in every way. Maybe that is the real reason behind their steadfast growth.