ethiopian diaspora business forum

Transcription

The Ethiopian American is
published
by the Ethiopian American LLC
6394 Andrew Mathew Trc
Springfield V A 22150
[email protected]
www.theethiopianamerican.com
Editor-IN-Chief
Omer Redi
10 A Soaring Progress Under a Decade
In this issue
Cover Stories
Reporters
20What is in Stock at CBE for the
Diaspora?
Genene Leul
Kirubel Tadesse
Shimeles Meressa
Tesfalem Waldyes
advertising sales
22The Diaspora Printer Made in
Silicon Valley
Beleco Business PLC
Contributors
Andrew Laurence
Biset Beyene Molla
Dr. Desta Meghoo
24AU’s Plan for Continent’s
Diaspora
Sonia Plaza
Yohannes Assefa
Graphics Design
MODERNETH
06 Featured Stories
Subscription
06 Penetrating African Markets:
The Ethiopian Way
US - The Ethiopian American LLC 6394
Andrew Mathew Trc
Springfield VA 22150
Tel. 202-527-0980
ETHIOPIA -Belco Business Plc, the
sole marketing agent of the Ethiopian
American LLC in Ethiopia
P.O.Bos. 4832
Tel. 0912-600-379
addis ABABA, ETHIOPIA
info@theethiopianamerican
10 A Soaring Progress Under a
Decade
27 Should Diaspora Lawyers be
Able to Practice Law in Ethiopia?
30 Business Franchising Under
Ethiopian Law
33 Girma Wake: a ‘Crazy’ Story at
Ethiopian Airlines
36 In Retrospect: History and
Achievements of the Ethiopian
Diaspora Business Forum
40 Ethiopia’s New Diaspora Bond:
Will it be Successful this Time?
Cover Story
38 Early Ethiopian Diasporas in the
U.S.
Art and Culture
42 Cutting for Stone
44 Overlooking African Treasure:
The DIARTSPORA?
WEB & APPLICATION DEVELOPEMENT
THE ETHIOPIAN AMERICAN
Publisher’s Note
This year marks the 7th year since we
embarked on the journey of organizing
the Ethiopian Diaspora Business
Forum, the oldest such forum for the
African Diaspora. When we look back,
we have had great moments and feel
proud about our achievements as an
organization and community. We hope
to continue on this path as long as
there is a need for such an event in our
community.
This is a special year: we are honoring
Tadiows G. Belete, CEO of Boston
Partners, and Zemedeneh Negatu,
Managing Partner of Ernst & Young
Ethiopia as the 2012 Pioneer Ethiopian
Diaspora Businesspersons of Year.
An Awards Dinner will be held on the
evening of July 14, 2012 at the Grand
Hyatt Washington.
Diaspora business community. We
feature these individuals to encourage
others to follow their footsteps and
change the somewhat negative image
of Diaspora businessmen in Ethiopia.
The second edition of the print magazine
is now out (you are reading it). The
focus of this issue is on the Ethiopian
Diaspora in Africa. As usual, we are also
profiling the life and work of prominent
Ethiopian Diaspora businesspersons.
Individuals such as Girma Wake,
former Ethiopian Airlines CEO, Tadiwos
Belete, CEO of Boston Partners,
Aman Adinew, former COO of ECX
and Shakur Geresu, a former Silicon
Valley engineer currently running a first
class printing press in Addis Ababa,
exemplify the best of the Ethiopian
Finally, as part of our mission, we
engage our readers in analyzing current
issues of interest to our community.
Articles on the Diaspora bond and
the recently drafted legal services
law contrast the odd mix of policies
that affect the Ethiopian Diaspora in
Ethiopia. We hope you find this issue
informative. As usual, please let us
know if there is anything we can do to
improve the magazine and our events.
For RSVP visit
7
or contact us at
[email protected]
BUSINESS FORUM
Connecting the Ethiopian Diaspora to the Ethiopian Economy
Forum: The George Washington University | The Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st Street, NW | Washington, DC 20052
Awards Dinner: Grand Hyatt Washington
1000 H St. NW, Washington DC 20001
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Eclipse
Printing
& Graphic Design
Atalanta Guest House is one of Ethiopian-owned businesses in Kampala/Photo By Tesfalem Waldyes
By Tesfalem Waldyes
Ethiopian Traditional eateries and
shops retailing spices and Enjera
have mushroomed, over the past few
decades, from the US and Europe to
almost every East African capital.
Unlike their counterparts in the US and
Europe, Ethiopians in Africa seem to
have succeeded in penetrating other
business areas including construction,
aviation and retail businesses. From
neighbouring South Sudan and Kenya
to Uganda and Tanzania, and to South
Africa and Nigeria, Ethiopian individuals
and businesses have grown prominent
recently.
The newest nation on earth, South
Sudan, is the best example, arguably
accounting for the largest share of this
6
prominence.
Ethiopian restaurants got popularity
in South Sudan even before the birth
of the nation. The first Ethiopian
restaurant opened in the capital Juba,
soon after North and South Sudanese
forces signed the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement that ended their
two decades long civil war in 2005.
Over the following years, thousands of
Ethiopians entered South Sudan either
as employed workers or as small and
big business owners.
The Rise of the Ethiopian Diaspora in
Africa
The Ethiopian Embassy in Juba says
there are about 4,000 Ethiopians
residing in that country. Observers,
however, raise the estimate as high
as 6,000, and say it is growing fast by
the day. Ethiopian government’s open
policy of encouraging its citizens to
benefit from the untapped investment
potential and the host country’s appetite
for skilled manpower and foreign
investment in almost every sector, are
the prime driving factors, according to
these observers. Hence, just the size of
Ethiopians in South Sudan is a market
in its own mainly for those in the food,
beverage and hospitality industry.
Queen of Sheba Restaurant and Bar
is the first Ethiopian-owned restaurant
to open in Juba. Following its suit,
around 15 Ethiopian restaurants are
now operating in that capital – a
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fledging city with an estimated 250,000
population. Though still far behind
and smaller than the size of investors
from other neighbouring countries, the
number of Ethiopians who own and
run small lodges and medium size
hotels is growing fast. Olympic Hotel,
a 19 rooms hotel owned by a trio of
Ethiopians, and Habesha Continental,
a hotel with 14 rooms but with a large
landholding for future expansion, , are
among the famous Ethiopian owned
establishments in Juba.
Breaking New Grounds
Breaking from the usual trend, some
Ethiopians
have recently grown
visible in the construction sector of
South Sudan. Around 10 construction
companies are currently operating in
South Sudan.
Alemayehu Ketema – owner of another
construction company named after him
and based in Addis Ababa – is one of
such. One of the three shareholders of
Country Club Developers, an elite real
estate company in Addis, Alemayehu
has back home built major roads
including part of the 300 million Birr
worth Shashemene–Doddola corridor.
In South Sudan, Double Alpha has
won a bid to build part of the 400
million dollars worth 290kms long road
stretching from Malakal, South Sudan’s
second biggest city, to Jekou, on the
Ethiopian border.
While these companies certainly
represent the growing influence
of Ethiopian businesses in the
neighbouring
country’s
economy,
diplomats in Juba say compared to the
the new entrants are Yemiru Nega of
Demebl City Center and YENCOMAD
Construction, Gebreyesus Igata of Gift
Real Estate, and Badeg Bekele (Prof)
of the International Leadership Institute
have all leased huge plots of land to
construct
commercial
complexes,
hotels and real estate development.
Juba, and its plan for two more in Wau
and Rumbek towns, capitals of Western
Bahr el Ghazal and Lakes State,
respectively, within six months could
only signal that the best is yet to come.
It has already constructed a building
for its Malakal branch and took thirteen
bankers from Ethiopia.
Apart from the private sector, stateowned companies from Ethiopia are also
active in few selected areas. There is
no better example than the Commercial
Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) that illustrates
the government’s interest on South
Sudan. The state commercial bank
opened its first overseas subsidiary in
South Sudan in September 2009 with
15 million dollars start up capital. CBE
South Sudan Ltd. is now running a
branch and a main office in Juba. The
Reports of CBE’s moves seem to have
lured private banks in Addis to the new
frontier. The private United Bank has
recently announced plans to become
the first Ethiopian competitor to CBE in
Juba.
Queen of Sheba Restaurant & Bar, the earliest of Ethiopian eateries in South Sudan/Photo By Tesfalem Waldyes
For
example,
Dembesh,
Ifad,
Liberty and Black Lion are some of
the Ethiopian companies granted
government contracts worth hundreds
of thousands, if not millions, of dollars
for the construction of public offices,
health institutions and schools in various
states of this new country. Previously,
Dembesh built four primary schools and
a police training college in Wrapp State.
Ethiopian
companies
have
also
been awarded bigger projects like
road construction. Double Alpha
Construction,
partly
owned
by
8
potential and the share of investors from
other countries, it is insignificant.
“We do not think that Ethiopians
are coming as we expect,” Negash
Legesse, Deputy Head of Mission at the
Ethiopian Embassy in Juba, said.
Interest among Ethiopians to invest in
South Sudan has been on the rise but
after the country became independent
a year ago, their numbers has doubled.
They flocked in for one or two weeks
assessments to determine the most
profitable sectors and some have
already docked for a long term. Among
Juba branch, which provides deposit,
money transfer, cash management,
credit and collection as well as foreign
and local guarantee services, currently
has around 4,000 account holders.
The oldest commercial bank in Ethiopia
claims that its operations in South
Sudan are successful and its profit
is increasing every year, despite its
delayed entrance to the market three
years after its Kenyan counterpart,
Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).
CBE’s recent move to open a second
branch in Malakal, 650km north of
Demand for Ethiopian banking expertise
has also been rising among Juba’s
home grown banks. Buffalo, one of the
six local banks, recruited 10 Ethiopians,
two of whom for managerial positions.
running beach front hotels in Mombasa.
In Uganda few Ethiopians entered the
lodge management business and have
eventually dominated the sector. They
either rent or take over the management
of medium size guest houses, lodges
and hotels that have been struggling
for market, and turn them into profitable
businesses within few months. Two
Ethiopian brothers, Fasil and Wubeshet
Andarge have, accordingly managed to
rein over six lodges and hotels within
four years. Atalanta, another Ethiopian
owned loge management company,
registered four lodges under its name.
Telecom is another sector that uses
Ethiopian experts on various fields.
Vivacell, one of the four mobile phone
operators of South Sudan, employs
30 Ethiopians. The Lebanese telecom
company has deployed Ethiopians at
its technical and finance departments.
MTN, the South African telecom giant,
also hired seven Ethiopians for its South
Sudan operations.
In other completely different sectors,
Precise Printers Ltd and Prime General
Supply Ltd are among Ethiopian
owned printing presses that are said
to have won recognition in Kampala.
The latter, for example, was awarded
contract to print ballot papers for the
country’s last general elections in 2011.
Prime has also bought a large printing
machine from the New Vision Printing &
Publishing Company Limited, publishers
of the largest government run daily
newspaper, New Vision, heralding its
expansion and growth in market share.
Further, around 60 Ethiopian civil
servants, who are drawn from various
government institutions, have been
deployed to South Sudan under
the initiative of the regional bloc –
the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) – to build Juba’s
civil service capacity.
Other Ethiopian companies have
pioneered in introducing some products
to Uganda. One of them, Ambar
International Co Ltd, is mainly involved
on import and distribution of wines and
other beverage drinks; and started
vanilla farming and processing for
export markets.
East Africa and Beyond
Few even have managed to attain
a status of multinational. Vambeco
Enterprises
Ltd,
a
construction
company operating in the Great Lakes
Region, has offices in Kampala, Kigali
and Nairobi. This company is mainly
involved in water related projects and
construction of buildings.
The
involvement
of
Ethiopian
businesses in other Eastern African
countries is limited in scope and
number. Most Ethiopian businesses in
Kenya and Uganda operate restaurants
and shops that mainly retail food stuffs,
clothes, music and video discs from back
home, as well as internet cafes, and car
rentals. However, exceptional few have
entered multimillion investments such is
In neighbouring Rwanda, an Ethiopian
name is famous among senior
government officials and in the aviation
industry. Following his retirement in
2011 from the Ethiopian Airlines, the
most celebrated CEO of the national
carrier – Girma Wake – now chairs
Rwanda Airs’ board of directors.
On the other coast of the continent,
another veteran in the aviation industry,
Kinfe Kahssay, is the Chief Executive
Officer of Air Nigeria Development
Limited under management cooperation
arrangements with the Ethiopian
Airlines.
Ethiopian is also a technical and
strategic partner of the West African
community airline, ASKY, a few
years old airline aspiring to become a
continental carrier. Ethiopia’s flag carrier
has secured 25 percent equity share in
the Togo based ASKY, established in
collaboration with the government of
Togo and the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), a
regional block of 16 countries founded
in 1975.
Tewodros Mengesha – an Addis Ababa
and China based millionaire active in
the real estate, construction, mining and
extraction sector of Ethiopia in addition
to his flagship shipping business in
China, has also set up Tedy Air with
its target market being East Africa.
With a fleet of about four small charter
planes, Tedy Air has been on the skies
of the Horn of Africa for years now. It is
particularly busy in Juba and Ethiopia.
Farther south in the continent, several
Ethiopian medical doctors have made
Botswana their home. Even farther,
Ethiopians are said to have dominated
the retail business in South Africa
making millions that their success
stories are among the issues youth in
Addis Ababa talk about.
There could be others unknown but what
is certain is that Ethiopian businesses
are increasingly taping to foreign
opportunities, and whether this is the
beginning of Ethiopians going down the
Chinese way, as the government does,
remains to be seen EA
9
Cover Story
Tadiwos G. Belete is the first businessman to introduce the concept of day spa to Ethiopia
A Soaring Progress Under a Decade
By Omer Redi
Nine years ago, when Tadiwos decided
to enter an unchartered business
territory in Ethiopia, he certainly saw
an opportunity that would reap him a
decent return; but didn’t anticipate his
business will grow this fast and vast in
less than a decade.
His company, Boston Partners, has
evolved and grew several folds from
the two million dollars business it
was in 2002, and a still going strong
corporation.
A returnee from Boston, Tadiwos G.
Belete, started Boston Partners as a
joint venture with a Taiwanese-American
woman – Tera Chung – when he moved
back to Addis in 2002. His business
diversified and grew exponentially over
nine and a half years; Chung transferred
all her shares to Tadiwos leaving him
the sole proprietor, President and CEO
of the multimillion dollars business
famous for its resort and spa brands.
He left Ethiopia in September 1980, at a
10
young age of 17. At a period that saw one
of the highest rates of Ethiopians fleeing
their country, due to the political turmoil,
he first crossed to Sudan, stayed for
two years as a refugee and made it to
America, where he was involved in the
business of promoting Ethiopian artists.
That was after he completed high
school but had to drop out of college for
he had to work long hours to support a
large family back home. Later, he also
did the same business he is famous for
now but on a much smaller scale and
narrower scope.
A father of three, Tadiwos always
wanted to come back to Ethiopia but
didn’t have enough money to start the
kind of business he dreamt about.
Hence, he used to offer almost
everyone who sat on the chairs of his
beauty salon in Boston to start business
in Ethiopia. One fine Saturday evening
in 2000 Ms Chung, whom he fondly
calls “my angel”, said yes to his ideas.
They built Boston Building at 50 percent
share and that brought him to Ethiopia.
Back home, Tadiwos saw the gap in the
sector he pioneers and he decided to
grab that opportunity; he started Boston
Day Spa, an unparalleled beauty and
wellness service industry in Addis.
The sophistication and standard this
Diaspora businessman introduced to
the sector, enlivened and modernized
the business throughout the city.
His initiative opened up a world of
untapped business motivating many
more to follow suit that currently almost
every corner of Addis hosts varying
types of spas.
But Boston Day Spa just opened
Tadiwos’ eyes for even greater business
opportunities as he seriously thought
about Addis Ababa’s status as the
capital of Africa which brings many
visitors either for business, conference
or pleasure. Besides, there are about
four million Ethiopians – nearly half the
population of New York – scattered all
over the world most of whom visit their
homeland once in a while. When they
do, they mostly come with pleasure
plans and cash, another niche market
for what Tadiwos was about to embark
on few years ago. The combined effect
of all these is a phenomenal growth
of the tourism industry that Boston
Partners found too good to ignore.
Hence, the young company decided to
diversify into hospitality industry and
take the business out of Addis.
“With the tourism industry growing 20 23 percent annually – especially in the
last three to four years – we have set on
expanding and serving as a benchmark
so that anyone can do as good as us or
better” the CEO said.
very successful at Tana as well,” the
CEO said.
It is currently constructing three more
resorts ; one on the shores of Lake Hora
– its second in Debrezeit – another by
the Gere’alta Mountains in Tigray, and
is almost half way through with the
construction of the third resort on a hill
top in Burayu, just on the outskirts of
Addis Ababa.
This latest resort in Burayu sitting on
50,000 sqm land is a site, Tadiwos says,
that allows a 360 degree view of the
capital and is a 50/50 joint venture with
his friend, Semunegus Shewatsega.
It will have 105 rooms including 54
corporate headquarters in Addis Ababa,
which also houses Boston Day Spa and
the Kuriftu Diplomat Restaurant.
In Tadiwos’s own words, the Burayu
Resort is poised to become one of the
best in Ethiopia, home away from home
for the Ethiopian expats who wish to hold
their wedding and other ceremonies in a
distinct Ethiopian traditional setting and
style.
With
the54
presidential
suites
symbolizing the 54 African nations
and the respective heads of states
expected to assemble at least once a
year in Addis, the conference and other
facilities as well as the distinctively
THE
IN PICTURES:
That decision turned Boston Partners
into a conglomerate of at least three
sister companies so far – two highend resorts outside and one spa and
upscale restaurant in Addis.
The picturesque Kuriftu Resort in
Debrezeit started with 18 rooms in 2007
and expanded over three phases into
25, then 37 and now 107 rooms. Shortly
after its launch in 2007, his resort hit
the list of recommended places to be in
Ethiopia among foreign tourists, while
locals talked of fancying a night or two at
this resort with pure Ethiopian touches
on the shores of the breathtakingly
scenic Lake Kuriftu.
“What amazes me so far is that almost
80 percent of our customers are locals,”
Tadiwos said explaining how Kuriftu
grew into prominence among the
affluent segment of Ethiopian population
in a little over five years.
The resort in Debre-Zeit also served as
an incentive for Boston Partners to start
the Lake-Tana Resort by the shores of
the second largest lake in Africa, and
the source of Blue Nile, which opened
for business in mid 2009.
“Thanks to our customers, business is
12
Kuriftu Resort & Spa represents the creative and artisitic edges of Tadiwos’ business
presidential suites accompanied by
facilities such as cinema, conference
centre and wedding halls as well as a
spa.
cool and serene retreat environment
adequately distant from the city buzz,
the venture is certain to become a
masterpiece of the industry, he added.
When construction on the Burayu
project – the biggest investment by far
with an expected over 100 million Birr
budget – is finalized the latest by end
of 2013, Boston Partners will have
five resorts across Ethiopia, a bunch
of hotels under its management and
other facilities, all run from the 7-storey
From the Basement Up
Until 2007, Tadiwos ran Boston
Partners from a small 6sqm but artistic
and colourful office on the basement
floor of his own Boston Building. As the
business portfolio diversified and grew
bigger, so did the management team,
staff size and composition as well as
Photos by Matt Andrea
13
administration matrix of the company,
pushing the CEO up the floors. With
Tadiwos’ office – still maintaining
that artistic touch – at the centre, his
Marketing Manager to the left and a
diaspora Vice President to the right,
the entire 4th floor of Boston Building is
now devoted exclusively to a corporate
office.
From there, Tadiwos oversees a diverse
business that employs close to 1,500
people
Opportunities Outweighing
Challenges
According to Tadiwos, Ethiopia is still
learning a lot of things and nothing
is easy to process. Nevertheless,
in such challenging situation, there
are opportunities that outweigh the
difficulties and frustrations.
“It’s not a piece of cake, but the
opportunities outweigh the challenges.
14
The bureaucracy is still cumbersome;
the country is not yet ready to provide
qualified human and other resources
for our kind of business, and the list
goes on. But this is home and we have
to be the ones to help change this,” he
elaborated. “I consider myself lucky to
have been this successful, but I also
believe opportunities are still plenty for
many more to involve.”
Nevertheless whoever plans to join the
sector, say opening a five star resort,
has to take into account that there is
no sufficient skilled manpower in the
sector. Hence, one often has to “go grab
a fresh high school or college graduate
and do a specialized training him/
herself,” according to Tadiwos.
That is the basis of his management
philosophy which makes Boston
Partners perhaps the only company
that elevated the people who built its
resorts from the foundation to the roofs,
learn new skills and go up in life to make
68 percent of the staff working at the
resorts today.
“The people who used to carry the
stones for 300 Birr a month as day
labourers during the construction of the
resorts are now professional staff at our
resorts earning salaries between 2,000
to 3,000 Birr,” he proudly explained.
Boston Partners’ corporate policy is
also “Ethiopian Designed, Ethiopian
Built,
Ethiopian
Operated”.
And
Tadiwos harbours an ambitious plan of
exporting his brand instead of keeping
on importing other’s into Ethiopia.
“I hope in my lifetime and yours we will
see more Kuriftu’s in East Africa and
elsewhere,” he concluded.
And his short message for the Diaspora,
as foreign investors mainly from Asia
flock to Ethiopia “let’s make sure we
own what Ethiopia has to offer.” EA
coffee farmers and their families as well
as others in the value chain,” he said.
The Luxury Café
Aman says he helped ECX change
the process of commodities trading
in Ethiopia and he is now focused on
working on a shared dream with his
wife of a unique cafe, growing it from
what is now a single line of retailing
to introducing new elements to the
business.
Two years ago, Aster and Aman
launched Kabu Coffee, a luxury café in
Addis Ababa with its tagline “…Coffee
Redefined!” indicating its vision of
changing the rules of the game in their
line of business.
Both of them firmly believe that by
adding value to coffee – Ethiopia’s
number-one export product – the
Aman Adinew and a number of Diasporas hold business meetings at the elegant
Kabu Coffee otherwise called the laxury cafe/ Photo By Mulugeta Ayene
“The roasted coffee market has been
dominated by the Europeans for so
many years; it’s about time Ethiopia
shares in the benefits,” he suggested.
“Kabu, along with its sister company,
is working with a major German firm
to launch the roasted and soluble
coffee industry here in Ethiopia. We
believe this move will totally change the
customer experience around the world.”
Redefining the coffee industry this way
would also help coffee lovers worldwide
to experience pure Ethiopian coffee
prepared at the source, guaranteeing
such coffees are not blended with other
types and sold as “Ethiopian Arabica
Coffee.” Aman believes this venture has
the potential to not only generate more
foreign currency for the county, but also
provide employment opportunities for
hundreds of Ethiopians and transfer
consistently deliver high-quality coffee
to our customers,” Aman explained.
“Our ultimate goal is to participate in
the entire value chain, that is, farming,
wet/dry milling, processing, roasting
and exporting. We also want to expand
the retail/cafe within Addis Ababa and
North America.”
Treasure from the Past
Years of experiences in transforming
businesses in the U.S. and Ethiopia
seems to have come handy to keep
Aman going despite the challenges
facing him. From being raised by
parents and grandparents whose
values remain his standards, to working
in senior positions at world class mega
companies like 3M, Northwest Airlines
and DHL Express, life has prepared
Aman to running his business in a
meticulous way.
Aman Adinew: Redefining Everything...and Coffee
By Shimeles Meressa
Leaving the comfort of life in the U.S.
behind – or as is the case for most,
breaking free from the rat-race – and
returning to Ethiopia with a plan of some
permanence is a tough decision. The
challenge was even harder on Aman
Adinew, an Ethiopian-American who,
until three and half years ago, was busy
dealing with an already well established
business and just starting up another
one after he left a high profile job at a
prestigious company.
Commodity Exchange (ECX) joining a
team of Diaspora experts who became
the bedrock to all the success the
exchange has achieved. Although his
wife, the legendary queen of Ethiopian
music – Aster Aweke – was by then
already deeply engaged in the process
of opening a coffee roasting facility and
coffee shop in Ethiopia, he had planned
to delay his return by few years until
he could confidently leave his fledging
consulting firm.
Throughout the 25 years in the United
States, life was so nice to Aman that he
lived like the lucky few, a life that even
the citizens of that country yearn for but
find it difficult to achieve. Nevertheless,
none of these were bigger than his
dream – starting business in his home
country.
“However, the vision behind ECX
compelled me to take advantage of
this significant opportunity to serve
my home country and its people,” the
former Senior Director at DHL Express
said.
Aman returned to Ethiopia in January
2009 to help jump start the Ethiopia
16
Redefine the Process, Improve Lives
Aman was Chief Business Operations
Officer of ECX throughout its founding
and stabilization years. When his
contract ended in late 2011, he left
the exchange with an impeccable and
hardworking team of local professionals
that he formed and trained as well as
a reliable operations system, mainly
warehousing and coffee and grain
quality control centres, ran by this team
across Ethiopia.
During the almost three years at ECX, he
has had the chance to travel the breadth
and width of Ethiopia which allowed him
to not only enjoy the landscape of the
country, but also opened his eyes for
more opportunities.
“My first life-changing experience
occurred while travelling to Hawassa
and Dilla to find warehouses for the
coffee operations, to learn more about
coffee and its processing methods.
And I felt the main reason I am back in
Ethiopia is to help redefine this process
in a way that improves the lives of
Kabu’s ambiance is a source of pride to its proprietors and a relaxing environment to its clients/Photo By Dawit Teumelisan
country can earn even more foreign
currency. Diversifying from exporting
only raw coffee beans is believed to
make Ethiopia’s economy more resilient
to external market fluctuations. For
example, despite a bumper harvest this
year, Ethiopia exported only 50 percent
of the amount it planned for the year
fetching 505 million dollars, exactly half
of the 1.1 billion dollars original target.
Aman says one solution could be
processing the coffee at home. Hence,
Kabu Coffee, Inc. and its recently
established sister company, METAD
Agricultural Development plc.
knowledge and technology to the
birthplace of Arabica coffee.
Kabu and METAD have already set-up
a state-of-the-art coffee laboratory in
Addis Ababa, which will be used to train
coffee quality professionals, provide
assistance to roasters, importers and
exporters, and also serve to verify
the quality and consistency of Kabu’s
coffee.
“This laboratory will be shared with
our sister company, which is set
up to manage and operate farms,
process and export speciality coffee.
It will enable both of our companies to
Born in Addis Ababa and immigrated
to the United States in late 1984 after
completing secondary education, he
currently resides in Addis with his wife.
A BA degree in Business Administration
from Augsburg College in Minneapolis,
Minnesota and an MBA from Carlson
School of Management at the University
of Minnesota, with an emphasis on
Marketing and Strategic Management,
highlight his academic background.
Both in college and at work, Aman won
awards including Who’s Who Among
Students in American Universities and
Colleges, the Outstanding Young Men
of America Award, and Who’s Who in
17
American Business Leaders. He has
been also be featured by Business
Week, Fast Company, and Computer
World on the subject of pricing and
spoke at industry-leading pricing
conferences.
Right out of college, Aman joined the
3M Company, a conglomerate with over
70,000 products, as a Systems Analyst.
This presented him an opportunity to
become an authorized 3M exporter. In
late 1989, he created Aman International
Trade, Inc. (AIT), an international
trade company exporting healthcare,
audiovisual and information storage
products to Africa, Latin America and the
Middle East. A year later, he formed AIT
Entertainment, Inc. with the intention of
producing traditional and contemporary
Ethiopian music and introducing quality
productions to music lovers worldwide.
AIT sponsored, managed and promoted
renowned Ethiopian bands – including
the Roha, Ethio-Star and Admas – in
very successful North American and
European tours. Since late 1994, AIT
has been leading the Ethiopian music
industry being the first to launch a
website;
producing
entertainment
radio program – Lissan Radio – in
Washington D.C., Northern California
and Seattle/Takoma area; introducing
artist management and operating music
recording studios. AIT also introduced
the 360 degree artist management
concept by promoting Ethiopian artists
worldwide through multiple channels
and resources.
Building on remarkable records in
their respective professions, Aster
and her husband are now looking at a
business future of expanding Kabu and
METAD, diversifying into hospitality and
logistics, and partnering with Ethiopian
friends and foreign companies in other
areas. The couple are also considering
ways to help HIV-positive children in
Ethiopia including building a number of
orphanages in Ethiopia.
In 1999, Aman established AIT
Entertainment/Records PLC in Addis
Ababa, which has since emerged as
one of the leading musical production
and distribution companies. Although
the responsibility of running AIT has
been assumed by family members,
Aman’s love for music and his devotion
to Ethiopian culture has kept him on the
Board of AIT. To date, this company
has produced over 40 Ethiopian music
recordings and hundreds of concerts
around the world, in what he calls an
effort to introduce Ethiopian music to
the world and give talented unknowns
an opportunity to shine.
And all his undertakings from ECX to the
family business in various sectors boil
down to one basic principle, redefine
the way things are done in Ethiopia and
change the country’s image globally in
the process, Aman stated.
“So often, when other nations think of
our country, only two things come to
mind: war and famine. But Ethiopia has
so much to offer: its music, its culture,
its people,” he said. “This is exactly
what we have worked towards at ECX,
AIT Records and now at Kabu Coffee.
We are positively impacting the image
of Ethiopia with our creativity, hard
work, determination and persistence.” EA
Communications Expert with the Textile
Industry Development Institute.
Ethiopia expects to finalize eight new
and expansion projects at a total cost
of 4.4 billion birr before the end of the
current budget year in early July.
Five of these projects are new beginning
operations with a total investment of
3.4 billion birr and expected to offer
employment opportunities for three
thousand people while the remaining
three projects are expansion works
involving investment of one billion birr
and expected to employ 1,800 people.
The projects consist of factories
producing yarn, finished and knitted
fabrics, and T-Shirts. Investors in the
sector include domestic, Ethiopian
diaspora and international businesses
from India, Pakistan and Turkey.
A big increase is anticipated in the textile
production sector with a corresponding
increase in revenue with plans unveiled
for the industry to launch 46 additional
projects in the coming years.
Source: Capital
Ethiopia, US sign $675 million
development assistance deal
The governments of Ethiopia and the
United States signed a financial deal
amounting to $675 million aimed at
boosting the Growth and Transformation
Plan of Ethiopia.
The finance is expected to be utilized
for the implementation of the nation’s
strategies in the sectors of agriculture,
health and education focusing on
quality improvement in service delivery
besides improving governance.
US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald
Booth, who witnessed the signing of the
deal said his country would continue
its support to the success of Ethiopia’s
development.
Ahmed Shide for his part said the funds
would help to improve services in the
education and health sectors as well as
increase productivity in the agriculture
sector.
Photo Credit US Embassy, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia’s Finance
Development State
Shide, and USAID
Tomas Staal, signed
19 in Addis Ababa.
and Economic
Minister, Ahmed
Mission Director,
the deal on June
The finance would be channelled
into development and humanitarian
assistance in the first year of the new
USAID’s five-year Country Development
Cooperation Strategy, according to
Staal.
Source: US Embassy, Addis Ababa
Brief News
Ethiopia to Enact New Real
Estate Law
Ethiopia is to enact a new real estate
law requiring real estate developers to
deliver homes on time and to fulfil the
agreed upon standards.
The bill known as the Real Estate
Home Developers Proclamation will
also address the issue of licensing for
real estate developers, the transfer of
finished homes, as well as outlining
the developer’s responsibilities and the
framing of the contract between the real
estate developer and the customers.
The Ministry of Urban Development
and Construction (MoUDC) has
been drafting the bill which was first
18
Ethiopia Earns $71 Million
from Textile Exports
mentioned by Mekuria Haile, Minister of
MoUDC during a consultative meeting
with the diaspora in April.
The ministry is yet to organize a meeting
with relevant stakeholders to discuss
the bill although a questionnaire seeking
to identify problems in the sector and to
indicate solutions has been delivered
to Ayat and Access Real Estate, said
Tadesse Gebregiorgis, Deputy Bureau
Head of Housing Development Strategy
and Legal Affairs Directorate with
MoUDC.
Source: Fortune
Ethiopia earned 71 million US dollars
from textile exports in the last ten
months. The revenue earned is up by
over 50 percent from the amount the
same time last year. Nevertheless, it is
136.3 million dollars less than expected.
Export of value added finished products
has increased with garments sales
increasing to 75.1 percent, woven crafts
5.2 percent, Textile fabrics 10.7 percent
and yarn 9 percent.
The revenue did not meet targets
because of delays in textile projects
expected to become operational this
financial year said Fekadu Ethiopia,
19
million Diaspora account holders.
Cover Story
“The number is still on the rise,”
Mohammed Nuredin, Vice President for
Trade Service said.
Otherwise called non-resident forex
account, the Diaspora Account would
enable the account holder to deposit
money in one or more of the three major
internationally transacted currencies –
Making its services more
convenient mainly to the
Diaspora, CBE has recently
introduced a number new
technologically enabled
services.
US Dollar, Pound Sterling and Euro.
CBE’s future headquarters in Addis Ababa
What is in Stock at CBE for the Diaspora?
By Omer Redi
The state-owned Commercial Bank of
Ethiopia (CBE) is the oldest and biggest
of the over a dozen commercial banks
in Ethiopia. With over 530 branches
across the country, total deposits of
about 86.5 billion, assets worth 114
billion and a working capital of over six
billion Birr, CBE claims the lion’s share
of industry market among commercial
banks.
and experienced bank in Ethiopia. The
CBE has invested millions of dollars
in new technology and human capital
development. The transformation of
the bank under its young and energetic
leadership, led by its charismatic
president, Bekalu Zeleke, is increasing
the bank’s institutional credibility and
attracting new domestic and foreign
customers.
Branches within the country serve
about four million account holders,
while the South Sudan subsidiary, the
first outside of Ethiopia after the closure
of the Djibouti branch in 2004, has
attracted about 4,000 account holders.
The CBE is also the underwriter of the
Grand Renaissance Dam Bond. It has so
far soled about four million dollars worth
of this Bond to the Ethiopian Diaspora
in the U.S. Its leadership, bonds experts
along with engineers from the project
owner – the Ethiopia Electric Power
Corporation (EEPCo) – have been
touring the world explaining the benefits
the bond on sale to Ethiopians around
the world.
CBE South Sudan Limited was started
with an initial capital of 15 million
dollars in 2009, marking the Bank’s new
regional growth strategy.
The 70 years bank is the best capitalized
20
In an initiative to making its services
more convenient to its clients anywhere,
even more so to the Diaspora who may
want to follow their financial status and
make transactions from wherever they
may be, CBE has recently introduced
a number new technologically enabled
services, including internet banking.
The CBE provides unique services to
the Ethiopian Diaspora. The Diaspora
Account is a deposit account meant to
enable Ethiopians in the Diaspora to
open and use foreign currency account
at home.
This scheme allows individuals and
businesses to open foreign currency
accounts, which can also be held as
collateral to get credit in local currency
from domestic banks in line with the
opening bank’s credit policy.
The CBE currently has about half a
Deposits that are made in other
convertible
currencies
such
as
Canadian Dollar, Saudi Riyal, Japanese
Yen, Australian Dollar and UAE Dirham
have to be converted to any of the three
major international currencies at spot
exchange rate based on the preference
of the account holder, explains a
promotional brochure of the CBE
detailing features of Diaspora Account.
The first type Diaspora Account – Fixed
(Time) Deposit – is interest bearing
account with minimum maturity period of
three months and opened with an initial
deposit of 5,000 dollars or its equivalent
in any of the alternative currencies the
Bank has specified.
The interest rate is LIBOR-based – a
most flexible mechanism that allows a
maturity period for interest calculations
ranging from overnight to 12 months.
LIBOR is viewed as an important
benchmark for short-term interest rates.
On the professional financial markets,
LIBOR is used as the base rate for a
large number of financial products such
as futures, options and swaps. Banks
also use the LIBOR interest rates as
the base rate when setting the interest
rates for loans, savings and mortgages.
The fact that LIBOR is often treated as
the base rate for other products is the
reason why LIBOR interest rates are
monitored with great interest by a large
number of professionals and private
individuals worldwide.
“Interest on such accounts shall be
payable only if they [the accounts] are
maintained at least for the minimum
period [of three months]. Interest income
on such accounts is tax-free,” reads the
promotional publication.
The second type – Current Account – is
more suitable to Diaspora businesses
and individuals who make regular
transactions and subsequent payments.
It is operated by cheque book allowing
withdrawals at any time by writing a
cheque.
The initial deposit to open this type of
Diaspora Account is much less than
the first type, just 100 dollars or its
equivalent in any of the other specified
currencies. But this account has a
limitation on the maximum amount to be
deposited, which CBE says should not
exceed 50,000 dollars or its equivalent
account,” states one of the conditions.
The third type – Non-Repatriable Birr
Account – may take the form of saving
deposit account that can be used for
local payments only. This account
however, has a competitive advantage
on the interest it pays, double the
minimum interest rate for saving
deposits set by the Central Bank, the
regulatory body that oversees the
activities of all commercial banks and
insurance companies in the country.
“Money can neither be transferred from
this account to abroad nor converted
from the local currency to any foreign
currency,” CBE explains.
A Diaspora Account can only be opened
by a non-resident Ethiopian nationals
living and working outside Ethiopia or
those in due process of living abroad for
work for more than one year and who
can produce authenticated documents;
non-resident foreign nationals of
Ethiopian origin; as well as companies
owned by such individuals and located
outside the Ethiopian territory for more
than one year.
A Diaspora Account can only be opened by a non-resident Ethiopian
nationals living and working outside Ethiopia or those in due
process of living abroad
in any of the other currencies.
The maximum deposit limit is set by the
National Bank of Ethiopia in order to
avoid a possible drain of the country’s
forex reserve in the event such account
holders want to withdraw a larger
amount or all of their deposits at one
time.
“But there is an ongoing discussion
to raise the limit higher,” Mohammed
explained.
However, like any other current account,
the Diaspora Current account doesn’t
earn any interests.
“Interest shall not be paid to a nonresident foreign currency current
A Diaspora Account may be opened at
any Ethiopian Embassy abroad, CBE
Correspondent Banks or at nearby
remittance services providers. They
simply prove the identities of applicants
and send a list of those eligible to CBE.
The balance of this account is kept
in foreign currency allowing account
holders to withdraw money from this
account in forex upon presentation
of travel documents, without having
a foreign exchange control permit.
However, for the purpose of using the
money in Ethiopia, the account holder
withdraws in local currency (Birr) only EA
21
north to Silicon Valley, California. In the
next seven years, he worked at several
high-tech companies with some of the
finest and most talented engineers and
scientists in the world.
Cover Story
Nevertheless, he underlines that there
are opportunities in the printing industry
as can be demonstrated by the growing
demands.
“Duty free privileges given to investors
a range of smart printing solutions.
And to those who want to join his club,
he says “spend some time and energy
on the ground, make the necessary
time investment to take a closer
It is as if the years in America were
preparing him for what he was eventually
to build in Ethiopia.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time
in Silicon Valley. It was a challenging
yet motivating environment where
innovation is the only constant and
part of our team’s daily life. My stay in
the U.S. was truly formative, crucible
that provided a very useful learning
experience and shaped me both
professionally and personally,” Eclipse’s
general manager recalls his earlier life.
An old printing machine that Shakur shipped from US stands at the entrance to office
The Diaspora Printer Made in Silicon Valley
By Omer Redi
An assortment of high printing quality
books, magazines and other printed
materials are placed in meticulous
arrangements on the two shelves
behind and in front of Shakur’s desk, in
an elegant, bright and spacious office
on Bole Road of Addis Ababa.
on-year.
The light in the office allows a thorough
inspection of the binding and colour
qualities of those placed in the front rows
of the shelves, all of which represent the
works of Eclipse, a printing company
established seven years ago by a
returnee from Silicon Valley, California.
His printing company is now among the
most successful few in Addis Ababa
claiming a sizable market share with
some of its over 100 clients coming
from international organizations in
Addis such as the African Union, SIDA,
USAID, UNICEF, UNDP, FAO and other
UN Agencies.
Starting small with a modest capital and
only 12 employees, Eclipse has grown
by folds over the years “far beyond our
expectations” said Shakur Geressu,
founder and General Manager of
Eclipse.
For the past four consecutive years,
Eclipse has registered an average
growth rate of nearly100 percent year-
22
“We have now more than 87 dedicated
and talented employees including
some of the most knowledgeable
professionals in the printing industry,”
the Electronic Engineer from California
State University added.
“Businesses not only in Ethiopia but also
in other Eastern and Southern African
countries also come to us,” Shakur
stated explaining his market base.
He speaks proudly of how Eclipse has
built excellent reputation for quality,
reliability, speed and superior services.
“…and all our products are designed
and printed in Ethiopia. Yet this is just
the beginning.”
Not only is Shakur happy with the
performance of his company so
far, but also very bullish about the
future considering a potential that he
describes as massive given Ethiopia’s
economy is shifting from agriculture to
manufacturing and services.
Shakur was born in Ethiopia and left for
Kenya in 1988 at the age of 13, where
he attended 7th and 8th grade at a
boarding school. It was from Kenya that
he got the opportunity to pursue further
education in the U.S. in 1990.
He finished high school in Los Angeles
and earned a degree in Electronic
Engineering from California State
University specializing on Control,
Automation, Mobile Robotics and
Telecommunications.
He then took a job offer from a hightech company, Atmel Inc. and moved up
After 14 years in the U.S. he moved
back to Ethiopia following several trips
to the country to explore potential
opportunities.
“Inspired by the success of my family
members and encouraged by the
business environment, I didn’t take too
long to make the move. The transition
was made smooth with the vital support
of my family here and abroad.”
Eclipse was established in 2004 as a
share company among family members
with a start up capital of 250,000 dollars.
Shakur says he envisioned setting up a
state of the art and integrated printing
press in Ethiopia with exceptional
customer service throughout the
printing process that delivers superior
final products.
But reaching the journey to that level
has never been an easy one. “One
of the major challenges is a dearth
of talent,” he said echoing a problem
repeatedly mentioned by diaspora
businesspersons. “As we continue
to invest in new technologies and
equipment to better serve our clients,
finding skilled workers and technicians
to meet our demands is becoming
increasingly challenging.”
Shakur keeps samples of books his company printed over the years inside his own office
by the government to import equipment
has made it much easier for us to meet
the growing needs of our clients and to
introduce new and modern technologies
into the printing industry,” he added
referring to government incentives.
Eclipse is currently on the final miles
of introducing additional cutting edge
printing services, new to the Ethiopian
market promising more offerings to the
company’s growing clientele basis. .
Pushed by ever-growing demands,
it has invested in this digital printing
equipment and software to set up a
state-of-the art one-stop digital print
shop. This print shop to be set up right
next Shakur’s office, will provide a wide
range of instant printings products –
from a single to thousands of pages,
“better, faster, cheaper but quality
products,” according to him. “It will be
as easy as ordering a cafe late at a
Starbucks outlet.”
But Shakur doesn’t seem ready to settle
even with that. He says Eclipse is set
to be one of the most innovative and
integrated printing service providers
both in Ethiopia and East Africa offering
look and understand the landscape,
market potential, demand, regulatory
environment, existing players and their
market size in the industry before making
any investment decision. Researching to
acquire the right equipment and finding
an ideal location to set up the printing
shop also contributes to success in the
business,” he added.
“You can’t just rush in Ethiopia and rush
out and say you have all figured it out.
Setting up a printing company is a huge
challenge and requires lots of capital but
the returns are frankly much greater.”
That realization keeps Shakur going and
investing boldly breaking new grounds
and building on his successes in what
seems a preparation for a future where
Eclipse is well set to standout as a world
class printing giant. And when that time
comes, the two shelves in his office
will have more samples representing
the level of growth and standards his
company would have achieved; the
diversification of its products and the
composition of its clients EA
23
Cover Story
AU’s Plan for Continent’s Diaspora
By Omer Redi
The African Union in collaboration with
the South African government this May
held the first Global African Diaspora
Summit in Johannesburg.
Held on May 25 – a day the AU picked
to coincide with the annual Africa Day
– the Summit is an indication of the
continental bloc’s recognition of the
African Diaspora as an integral part of
the continent.
“The Diaspora are part and parcel of
the African continent,” said the AU
in a statement it issued ahead of the
Summit.
A few days before the gathering
of African heads of state, experts
discussed the definition of the African
Diaspora that came out of a discussion
on the matter at the AU headquarter in
Addis Ababa, in April 2005.
“The African Diaspora consists of
peoples of African origin living outside
the continent, irrespective of their
citizenship and nationality and who are
willing to contribute to the development
of the continent and the building of the
African Union,” reads AU’s definition as
stated on the 2005 document.
In line with the AU’s key legal
establishment
documents,
the
54-member organization declared that
it would “invite and encourage the full
participation of the African Diaspora as
an important part of our continent”.
AU’s new headquqrters built with Chinese money is the
tallest building in Addis Ababa/ Photo By Omer Redi
24
Accordingly, the Directorate of African
Citizens and Diaspora Organization
(CIDO) of the AU Commission, in
collaboration with other departments
and external organizations such as
the World Bank (WB) and the African
Development Bank (AfDB), has been
mandated to actively engage the
Diaspora through several initiatives.
The major initiatives include the
production of a skills database of African
professionals in the Diaspora; the
establishment of the African Diaspora
Volunteer Corps; the foundation of an
African Diaspora Investment Fund; and
the development of a programme on
the development marketplace for the
Diaspora as a framework for facilitating
innovation and entrepreneurship among
African people and the Diaspora.
Through such programmes, the AU
says it aims to create incentives for
investment and foster a more conducive
business environment in the continent,
which will stimulate interest among its
Diaspora.
The Diaspora actively contributes
towards the development of the
continent
through
various
ways
including
remittance
flows
and
technology transfers.
Over 25 million Africans annually
receive an estimated 40 billion dollars
in remittances from relatives abroad.
If channelled into the proper sectors in
terms of investments, these flows will be
of great benefit to Africa’s sustainable
development, the AU argues. “Initiatives
such as African Remittance Institute
will enable recipients to use a banking
system that will not only channel the
money as investments but will also
reduce the cost of sending the money.
This in turn will effectively increase the
efficiency and volume of flows coming
into the continent from the Diaspora
around the world.”
Senior officials of the AU also argue
that positively changing realities in
Africa meant an increased opportunity
for the Diaspora to connect back to
the continent by involving in lucrative
investment opportunities.
“Once seen as unpromising and overly
risky, Africa is now one of the world’s
fastest-growing emerging markets and
an increasingly sought-after investment
destination,” Erastus Mwencha, Deputy
Chairperson of the AU Commission
(AUC) stated in his Foreword in Invest
in Africa: Towards 50 Years of Progress
and Development, 2012.
Narratives about the black continent
seem to be on dramatic positive course
lately owing to the economic growth it
has registered over the last decade as
the developed world is going through
tectonic economic shakes and emerging
economies are expected to reach their
pick soon.
For example, at least six of the world’s
10 fastest-growing economies over
the past 10 years have been in Africa,
where the middle class is expected to
grow to 100 million by 2015 from 60
million today.
Hence, the Global African Diaspora
Summit focused on the formulation
of the African Diaspora roadmap. “By
building synergies between Africa
and the Diaspora, the Summit aims to
lead to the global advancement and
improvement of lives,” the AU said in a
statement issued ahead of the Summit.
“The building and reinforcing of the
mechanisms for the advancement of
the Diaspora program will be mutually
beneficial to the African population
residing within and out of the continent.”
According to the AU, the Summit
provided a platform for the Diaspora to
address issues of concern and actively
engage in areas of renewable energy,
technological transformation, food
security, tourism and education among
25
Senior AU and South African officials at the Global Africa Diaspora Summit/Photo Credit AU
others.
between Africa and its Diaspora.”
It was also meant to find ways to
continue building on the process of
strong and continued collaboration
between Africa and its Diaspora, in the
context of South-South cooperation and
Pan-African solidarity.
The Summit was also said to have been
an important opportunity for Africa and
its Diaspora to cement their current
relations and build on them for a future
that is brighter for both.
“One of the key outcomes of this
Summit will be the identification and
implementation of “bankable projects”
through appropriate and effective
implementation plans or framework
of action,” the pre-Summit statement
added. The projects will focus on the
areas of political, economic and social
co-operation and target “fostering the
spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship
The Summit which was attended
by leaders from over 60 countries
including
AU
members,
South
American countries, AU organs, various
organizations working on issues of the
African Diaspora, and other guests
that the AU described as “relevant”,
ended by issuing a Declaration that
the AU says will guide the continent’s
engagements with its Diaspora.
“Concomitantly, we must now devote
more efforts to establish appropriate
structures that would facilitate more
effective Diaspora participation in the
affairs of the Union,” said Jean Ping, the
AUC Chairperson, in his address to the
Summit.
The AU will dedicate itself to ensuring
the implementation of the outcomes of
the Global Diaspora Summit, he added.
“It is our plea and submission to our
leaders that this initiative will be a living
project and the Declaration would be a
living document that generations after
us will come to applaud, refine, respect
and implement.” EA
Should Diaspora Lawyers be Able
to Practice Law in Ethiopia?
By Genene Leul
The business and politics of the
practice of law is as complicated as
the profession itself. The complication
emanates mostly from the role lawyers
play in society and the complex nature
of the profession itself. Thus, it was not
surprising to see a diverse reaction
when the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice
(MoJ) published a draft proclamation
(Draft Proclamation to Provide for
Licensing and Administration of
Advocates Practicing before Federal
Courts) expressly forbidding foreign
lawyers from practicing law in Ethiopia,
including foreign lawyers of Ethiopian
origin or diaspora lawyers with foreign
citizenship.
The impetus for drafting the law may
have been precipitated by the license
application of an Ethiopian American
lawyer from the Mid-West. The lawyer
was trained in Ethiopia, even served as
26
a Federal Judge and later immigrated
to the United States. He was admitted
to practice law and after some years
of practicing law in the US, returned to
Ethiopia as an American citizen to open
an office. When he applied for a license,
the application was rejected based on
his nationality. Other diaspora lawyers
followed suit with similar result. All told,
the application of 10 diaspora lawyers
were rejected. Sometime thereafter
the MoJ released the new advocacy
and licensing law prohibiting effectively
diaspora lawyers from the practice of
law in Ethiopia. What ensued then was
a very public debate in newspapers and
blogs on the merit or lack thereof the
draft law.
The reaction from the legal community
for and against the proposed law was
swift. On one hand, lawyers from
the MoJ and some members of the
Ethiopian Bar Association were happy
to see the law, which was largely seen
as keeping competition from diaspora
lawyers at bay. On the other hand,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some
members of the Investment Authority,
some members of the Ethiopian Bar
Association and diaspora lawyers were
opposed to the law.
Both sides gave their views to Addis
Fortune, Ethiopia’s leading business
newspaper in an article on the topic
published on April 24, 2011 as follows:
Mekonene
Bezabih,
head
of
communications for the ministry, told
Fortune, “This makes it essential that
the applicant be an Ethiopian national in
order to be granted a license [to practice
law] by MoJ,”
Dina Mufti, spokesperson for the MoFA,
told Fortune, on the other hand, “[o]
ther than those specifically prohibited
27
About COMEX
exceptions,
foreign
nationals
of
Ethiopian origin are allowed to practice
law in the country of their origin.”
Advocates of the law base most of their
logic on one point: the practice of law
is not a right but a privilege reserved
only to Ethiopian nationals. They cite
as authority a previous proclamation
(Federal Courts Advocates Licensing
and Registration law of 2000) governing
legal advocacy licensing which placed
Ethiopian citizenship as a prerequisite
for obtaining a license to practice law
in Ethiopia. For most legal observers
this argument is devoid of logic and
they argue that licensing should
be based on objective competency
requirements such as education and
experience. Certainly, Ethiopia as a
sovereign country has a right to restrict
the activities of foreign lawyers, argue
opponents of the law. For instance, in
many countries foreign lawyers are
restricted from practicing law in local
courts but are allowed to practice
international transactional law.
Indeed, the draft law does not seem
to distinguish between the two main
components of legal practice: litigation
and transactional work. Article 2 of
the proclamation defines advocacy
services as “the preparation of
contract, memorandum of association,
documents of amendment or dissolution,
documents of same, or documents to be
adduced in court, litigation before courts
representing a client and including
rendering legal consultancy services for
consideration or without consideration,
or for direct further consideration.”
Restriction of foreign trained lawyers
or foreigners to courts, where there is
language and cultural barriers may be
logical. However, the blanket banning
of these lawyers, even from the practice
of international transactional law or
advisory services seems too extreme,
argue observers.
Further, opponents argue that the
law conflicts with the letter and spirit
of the Yellow Card and the Ethiopian
Investment laws. These two laws govern
the role of the Ethiopian diaspora in
Ethiopia’s economy. Under both laws, as
ably stated by Ato Dina Mutfi, members
of the Ethiopian diaspora are allowed
to practice their profession or invest in
sectors other than a certain number
of expressly enumerated professional
and investment sectors (i.e., media,
financial sector, etc).
Additionally,
critics state that the spirit of the law is
contrary to the policy of the government
of Ethiopia on reversing brain drain. In
fact, critics argue that the MoJ should be
working with other ministries to provide
incentives to attract Diaspora talent and
not discourage it. Some draw a parallel
to the Government’s effort to attract
members of the diaspora doctors. The
Ministry of Health works with diaspora
health professional associations to
encourage the return and participation
of diaspora doctors in Ethiopia. If no
restriction is given to the participation
of diaspora doctors in Ethiopia, who
people would have to entrust their
very existence to, why should the
MoJ prohibit diaspora lawyers from
practicing law, ask observers.
The law also seems to conflict
with another important goal of the
government: attracting Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) to Ethiopia. In fact, the
MoJ does not seem to have considered
the implication of the law on FDI at all.
The law seems to suggest to these
investors, come with your money but
leave your lawyers at home. Off course,
no right thinking foreign investor will
invest without the advice and support of
its lawyers. Perhaps, this may be the
reason why the MoFA and the Ethiopian
Investment Agency are opposed to the
draft law.
Six months has passed since the
circulation of the draft law. The
intergovernmental
debate
seems
to be continuing on the merit of the
law. Many inside and outside the
government do not think this bill will
become law. However, the debate that
has been sparked after the circulation
of the draft law has strained relationship
between the Ethiopian Diaspora Bar
and some members of the Ethiopian
Bar Association. To be sure, there are
plenty of Ethiopian lawyers who do not
support this law and even argue the law
is motivated by resentment toward the
Ethiopian diaspora in general. Whether
this is true or not, the law creates
yet another unnecessary hurdle for
diaspora professionals to participate
in the development of their country of
birth EA
ECX
የኢትዮጵያ ምርት ገበያ
Comex Trading is an Intermediary Member of the Ethiopia
Commodity Exchange (ECX). As an Intermediary Member (broker)
and seat owner of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), a recently
established agricultural exchange in Ethiopia, Comex has tirelessly
worked to enhance value for its clients in the agricultural market in
Ethiopia. Following, the vision of ECX, Comex Trading is working hard
to revolutionize Ethiopia’s tradition bound agricultural trading
system through an informed and innovative trading approach to
provide a variety of services to all market actors, including small
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and consumers. Comex Trading provides its services at all of ECX’s 17
regional warehouses and trades in more than 200 different
agricultural spot contracts traded at ECX. Comex is currently
preparing to enter the futures market in preparation of the launch of
futures trading at ECX in mid-2012. Comex Trading is also engaged in
the export of agricultural commodities.
ECX MEMBER
THE COMEX SERVICE COMITTMENT
Comex is a company committed to serve its customers by
providing the best possible service using modern technology
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SERVICES
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INTERMEDIARY SERVICES AT ETHIOPIA
COMMODITY EXCHANGE (ECX)
Comex provides consulting services in a variety
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studies and the likes.
As a seat owner and Intermediary Member of
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provide brokerage services to buyers and sellers.
AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TRADED
Comex is engaged in the export of agricultural
commodities such as coffee, sesame and oil
seeds, Haricot beans, maize and Chickpeas to
the international market.
Comex is fully licensed to trade at ECX and in
Ethiopia the following agricultural
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Coffee, Haricot beans, Maize, Chickpeas
published legal commentaries on the
Code and contract law also contains
no reference to franchise law. There is
no specific law; there is no government
or private body concerned with this
matter. However, it does not mean that
there are no relevant laws that may be
applicable to business franchises in
Ethiopia or there were no past attempts
to formulate a regulatory structure for
franchises by the government. There
are, indeed, patchworks of disparate
laws that collectively affect the activities
of franchisors in Ethiopia.
A. Government Registration, Approval
or Filing Requirements
Internationally franchised brands famous in the West
Business Franchising Under Ethiopian Law
By Yohannes Assefa, Esq. and Biset Beyene Molla
A recent International Monetary Fund
report identified Ethiopia as one of
the fastest growing non-oil based
economies in Africa, growing by double
digits over the past six consecutively
years. While Ethiopia’s economy is
mostly agrarian, the recent expansion
of the country’s middle class and urban
population and its per capita income has
made the country ripe for international
franchising businesses, especially
those involved in the consumer retail
business. Yet, with the exception of
few major international franchisors, few
have shown interest in Ethiopia’s up and
coming franchise market. The lack of
interest from international franchisors
in Ethiopia has led to the copying and
misappropriation of well known and
established brands in the local market. It
is inevitable that at some point that some
of the major international franchisors
will enter the Ethiopian market as the
franchise market further matures.
Invariable, however, the current lack
30
of interest or active protection of
goodwill and intellectual property by
the part of international franchisors will
complicate any future entry. Hence, it
is important for international franchisors
to understand the current legal and
regulatory environment in Ethiopia for
operating an international franchise.
International franchising and franchising
contracts are not new to Ethiopia. In
fact, Ethiopia’s current major franchise
agreements were first drawn up
nearly 50 years ago. Among the first
franchisors in Ethiopia were Coca-Cola,
Pepsico, Inc. and Hilton International
Hotels Co., to mention a few. The newest
of the major international franchisors in
Ethiopia is the Sheraton Hotels. Sadly,
very little franchising activity took place
between the 1960s, when the Hilton
and Coca-Cola entered the market, and
the 1990s, when the Sheraton Addis
opened for business. The reasons for
the stagnation of the franchising market
during this period are many but the most
important cause was the 1974 military
coup and the subsequent adoption
of Soviet style communist economic
policies that overnight wiped out the
private sectors in Ethiopia. Interestingly,
the laws governing businesses and to
some degree, franchise agreements
too, changed very little during this
period and basic business activity in
Ethiopia continued to large degree to
be governed by the 1960 Commercial
Code (the “Code”). Consequently, any
review of current Ethiopia law governing
franchising activity will have to include
aspects of both the Code and new
additions and modifications introduced
since 1991.
1.
REGULATORY REQUIRMENTS
Ethiopia currently does not have per
se a body of law specifically governing
business franchising. In fact, a search
for the term “franchise” or “franchise
law” in the Code bares no result at all.
Surprisingly, a review of subsequently
Franchising agreements are not required
to be registered or require approval
from any governmental or regulatory
body per se under current Ethiopia
laws. However, certain aspects of a
franchise agreement may be required to
be registered at the Ethiopia Investment
Commission under the transfer of
technology regulations. What counts
as a transfer of technology agreement
within the context of a franchise
agreement is tricky and requires a close
review of each franchising agreement
by local counsel who is familiar with
the regulatory structures of Ethiopian
commercial and investment laws.
Up until the amendment of the
Investment (Amendment) Proclamation
No. 375/2003 (and repeal of certain
provisions of the TOT Regulation) in
2003, it was possible to reasonably
map out the regulatory process for
franchise agreements in Ethiopia. In
1993, two years after the down fall of
the communist government, the new
market oriented government issued
The Transfer of Technology Council of
Ministers Regulation No. 121/1993 (the
“TOT Regulation”). The TOT Regulation
defined transfer of technology as “the
transfer of systematic knowledge for
the manufacturing of a product, for
the application of rendition a service,
including management and marketing
technologies, but shall not extend to
transaction involving the mere sale or
lease of goods.” While the legislative
intent of this article was not clear,
one can reasonably deduce that the
TOT Regulation in general, and the
latter article, specifically, required
certain aspects or types of franchise
agreements. Indeed, this assumption
becomes even more palpable when
considering
a
subsequent
draft
directive that was intended to be issued
under this proclamation but for some
odd reason was never executed. See
The Approval and Registration of
Transfer of Technology Agreement
Directives No. 1.Nearly ten years after
the introduction of the TOT Regulation,
the Ethiopian Investment Authority
drafted The Approval and Registration
of Transfer of Technology Agreement
Directives No. 1 (the “TOT Directives”)
pursuant to its authority to issue such
directives under Article 3(2) of the TOT
Regulation. The TOT Directives were
intended to interpret and implement the
TOT Regulation. As such, as a further
refinement of the technology transfer
regulation, the TOT Directive distinctly
included certain provisions relating to
the regulation of franchise agreements.
In fact, this is the only place within the
context of Ethiopian legal system that
franchising agreements are mentioned
and considered. Article 3(3) of the
TOT Directives defined a franchise
agreement as “a business arrangement
in which knowledge, expertise and often
a trade mark or trade name are licensed
to an operator or recipient.”
With
regards to the application for registration
of a technology transfer agreement
associated with a franchise agreement,
Article 5(4) of TOT Directives states as
follows: “Where an agreement involves
a franchise agreement the franchiser
(supplier) must have developed a
special business format through which
the goods or services are sold under
the trademark or name and the good
will attached to it.” As for the duration of
the franchise agreement, “the duration
of the agreement shall consider the
financial situation of the franchisee or
recipient.” See Article 7(2) of the TOT
Directives. Finally, if the application was
found acceptable, the application would
be registered and a certificate would
be issued after the payment of a filing
fee. See Article 5(5) of TOT Directives.
While there were other provisions that
may also be relevant to franchise law,
further discussions of the TOT Directives
is irrelevant since the directive was
never issued. What is relevant is what
remains of the TOT Regulation and
subsequent proclamations modifying
or repealing of certain provisions of the
TOT Regulation.
A further development in the evolution
of
technology
transfer/franchise
agreement registration took place in
2002 when the Ethiopian Parliament
adopted
Investment
Proclamation
280/2002 (the “2002 Investment
Proclamation”). Referring to the TOT
Regulation, the 2002 Investment
Proclamation reaffirmed the Investment
Authority’s jurisdiction in the registration
and regulation of technology transfer
agreements. See Article 18 (1) and
(2) [Transfer of Technology] of the
Investment Proclamation. Specifically,
Article 18(2) mandated that evaluation
of applications for the registration of a
technology transfer agreement to be
31
made based on the criteria set under
the TOT Regulation. In a further twist,
the 2002 Investment Proclamation
was further amended in 2003. See
373/2003.
Specifically, Article 18
was “deleted and replaced” by Article
9(1), (2) and (3), which specifically
enumerated a new process by which
technology agreements are supposed
to be registered and regulated.
Essentially, the 2003 amendment to
the Investment Proclamation repealed
the TOT Regulation and replaced and
mandated that all technology transfer
agreements to be submitted to the
Investment Authority (now Commission)
for “approval and registration” and
required the Commission to issue a
certificate in two days. See Articles
9(1), (2) and (3) of Investment
(Amendment) Proclamation 373/2003.
Moreover,
the
2003
Investment
Proclamation refined the definition of
“transfer of technology” to mean “the
transfer of systemic knowledge for
the manufacture of a product, for the
application of improvement of a process
or for the rendering of a service,
including management and marketing
technologies, but shall not extend to
transactions involving the mere sale
or lease of goods.” See Article 14 of
373/2003.
What is missing from
both the 2002 and 2003 Investment
Proclamations was any specific
reference to a franchise agreement as
was done in the TOT Directives.
What makes the 2002/2003 Investment
Proclamations relevant to franchising is
that both proclamations deal with the
structured transferring of systematic
knowledge from one entity to another in
view of improving the manufacturing of
products or rendition of services by way
of improved technological knowhow
and marketing technologies.
See
Article 14 of Investment (Amendment)
32
Proclamation 373/2003.
This does
not mean, however, that transfer of
knowledge
presupposes
transfer
of business models as it is in the
case of franchising. The technology
exporter (under a licensing agreement
or a supply agreement) may simply
introduce certain patented machinery
for the manufacture of canned meat,
for example, but does not transfer the
trademark or other designations that
represent the goodwill of the technology
exporter. In this case, there is no
business modeling and the analogy
does not work. But if a franchise
agreement includes, for example, the
marketing technology, management,
and proprietary business process, and/
or specified machines that could be
used for the production of goods or for
rendering of a service, this franchise
agreement may satisfy the transfer
of technology agreement registration
requirements and these aspects may
be required to be registered with the
Commission.
Depending on the circumstances of
each franchising scenario, elements of a
franchise agreement may be registered
by different relevant government
authorities. Although not a mandatory
requirement, the registration of a
business trademark, patent and other
relevant intellectual property would be
an important aspect of establishing a
workable franchise mechanism. The
Trademark Registration and Protection
Proclamation,
Proclamation
No.
501/2006 (Trademark Proclamation),
the Inventions, Minor Inventions
and Industrial Design Proclamation,
and
Proclamation
No.
12/1997
are specifically relevant for the
registration and protection of a
franchisor’s intellectual property, even
if the franchisee licenses the use of
trademark or patented technology of
the franchisor for the operation of the
franchise business.
Another
potential
registration
requirement,
especially
for
an
international franchising agreement, is
the registration of the agreement with the
National Bank of Ethiopia. The National
Bank of Ethiopia is the designated
regulatory body for Ethiopia’s financial
sector and regulates international
financial transactions, especially those
denominated with foreign currency. As
in most cases, if the franchise royalty
payments are made in US dollars or
other foreign dollars, the National Bank
would be interested and registration of
said agreement with the bank will be
required.
In sum, one can say that the
requirements identified under the TOT
Regulation/Directives to some degree,
and the two Investment Proclamations,
to large degree, have set an ambiguous
but unavoidable course for the
registration and regulation of aspects
of franchise agreements under certain
circumstances. The circumstances that
may necessitate filling, approval and
registration may include the nationality
of the parties involved, the franchisor in
particular, the content of the franchise
agreement, whether the business
contains intellectual property such as
trademark/trade name, layout design,
patented, know-how or a particular type
of trade secrets. Registration of the
agreement may be necessary if foreign
currency is involved in the transaction.
In the end, however, each franchising
agreement must be reviewed and
analyzed based on each agreement’s
content and merit. Some will be required
to be registered and others will not. The
best way to find out is by reviewing and
analyzing each agreement, preferably
done by a professional with experience
in this area EA
(This article is an excerpt from a chapter of an
upcoming book on African Business Franchise
Law)
Girma Wake has led Ethiopian during its most successful times
Girma Wake: a ‘Crazy’ Story at Ethiopian Airlines
By Kirubel Tadesse
The former Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Ethiopian Airlines Girma Wake
is among the most celebrated persons
in the nation. He famously led the
airlines during its most successful years
when it first topped the continent as the
most profitable airliner.
Looking back at Girma’s long years
of service for Ethiopian Airlines, one
would see a true spirit of an Ethiopian
success, one that was achieved against
all odds that first suggested otherwise.
First Connection
Born in Yeka area of Addis Ababa
in 1943, Girma attended elementary
education in Dejazimatch Wondiyirad
School. After studying grade nine
at day school in Kebena area, he
completed the rest of high school in
then HaileSilassie secondary school at
Kotebe-the present Teachers’ Training
College.
It was then time for university. Back
in his college days, the country’s sole
higher education institution had a place
for competent students like Girma.
He joined the university college of
Addis Ababa, now known as Addis
Ababa University. That is when he first
connected with Ethiopian Airlines.
“I went to the university college of Addis
Ababa, the Arat Kilo campus from where
I was recruited by Ethiopian Airlines
when I was a second year student. I
used to play volley ball, basket ball and
other sports for my schools throughout
my student days. In fact I played for
Ethiopian Airlines’ volleyball team for
about six months before I joined ET,”
Girma says remembering his campus
life.
It was in 1965 when Girma joined the
airlines. At that time the flag carrier’s
management was dominated by
foreigners, predominately Americans
from Trans World Airlines. That,
however, was no barrier for Girma to
excel in his work all the way from the
junior post eventually to the top job.
Early Departure
Nearly for three decades Girma called
the airlines home, serving in various
posts, and various destinations.
As disputes between the government
and the airline rattled a rather stable
state company, more than few senior
management staff left Ethiopian
Airlines. Girma too left the airlines in
1993. He took offers abroad including at
the Gulf Air where he served as a head
of cargo.
Re-Connection
Ethiopia’s former Foreign Affairs
Minister,
Seyoum
Mesfin,
was
appointed to chair the board of directors
supervising the national flag carrier.
Disputes between the management and
the government seemed settled.
Back in 2003 Seyoum made a rare
phone call to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
At the time the country’s top diplomat
was not looking for an official of the
government there, which would be
the case if the call was to any other
country. On the other end of the phone
was Girma Wake who only knew the
senior minister on Ethiopian Television.
Seyoum wanted to personally offer
Girma, then an employee of Gulf Air, the
top job at Ethiopian Airlines.
Unfortunately Girma just signed a new
contract with Gulf Air.
“I agreed to meet Ato Seyoum since I
come to Ethiopia every three months
for a vacation. I planned to convince
him to give the job to another person;
one reason was I was 60 at that time
which is the official age for retirement
here,” Girma recollected. “Also, there
are usually a number of professionals
competing whenever Ethiopian Airlines
put out new posts; so I thought I would
33
The staff of Ethiopian will always remember Girma for the successes
he brought to their company/Photo Credit Addis Fortune
convince the minister to give the job to
one of them.”
Girma came to Addis Ababa and met
Seyoum who did the convincing after
which Girma agreed to lead Ethiopian
for five years.
“When I told my former boss at the
Gulf Air that I have to abandon my new
contract and move back to Ethiopian
Airlines, he asked me ‘are you crazy?’.
I replied that everybody is somewhat
crazy,” Girma explained how he
‘reconnected’ with the airlines as he put
it.
about the ambitious plan that targeted
the airlines to evolve into a billion dollar
company.
Nobody then saw how the homecoming
of Girma, who joined Ethiopian at age
22 as a student, was about to change
the image of the airline once and for all.
Nevertheless, the phrase ‘a record’ was
suddenly a culture at Ethiopian; in less
than a year since Girma took office the
airlines grew by 20 percent. Operating
Ethiopian has been always strong but
when Girma became its CEO in February
2004 it had only twelve jetliners. It
carried 1.2 million passengers annually
to 42 international and 16 domestic
destinations.
Girma spent most of 2004 devising
a bold plan with assistance from the
locally based Ernst and Young team.
Then he followed a five year strategic
plan: Vision 2010 that was launched
in 2005. Pundits remained skeptical
34
Ethiopian Airlines is also investing
elsewhere, more importantly in Africa. It
is a strategic partner with a 25 percent
stake in the new West African ASKY
Airlines which is doing “marvelous”
since it made its maiden flight in January
2010.
“We were allowed to do what we thought
commercially and strategically right- that
is our secret for success,” Girma said of
the successes he modestly shared with
the government and everyone he has
worked with.
Graceful Landing
Returning as Chief Pilot
What happened at Ethiopian Airlines
between 2004 and 2010 when Girma
was the CEO is anything but crazy; a
drive that helped the carrier to reach
new heights no other African carrier
came close to.
reflected in profits it pockets: from just
269 million birr it grew to 1.3 billion
birr under Girma’s leadership. In a
deserving coincidence, now that Girma
left office in January 2011, Ethiopian
was declared Africa’s most profitable
airline, a record it still keeps. It is now
the second biggest in Africa next to
South Africa Airways and a carrier
everyone likes to associate with. For
example, before Girma, Ethiopian had
a single code sharing agreement, but
when he left it had twelve and was also
unanimously accepted by Star Alliance
as member.
Girma’s farewell ceremony/Photo By
Mulugeta Ayene
revenues skyrocketed by 26 percent to
amount more than half a billion dollars
in 2004/05, an impressive start of the
five year plan.
Consecutively and consistently in the
remaining four years of the plan, the
airlines grew by an average 25 percent
and became a billion dollar company by
2009- one year ahead of the target. The
1.2 million passengers the airline used
to carry annually in 2004/05 and the
fleet size have both tripled in his years.
The growth of Ethiopian has also been
“The Airlines gave me lots of
opportunities for commercial as well as
management trainings abroad as well
as in house. I served the airline for 34
years, seven of which were as CEO.
When I retired after 45 years of service
in the airline industry, I am very happy
that I started and finished my service
years with ET,” Girma added.
Even if he is almost hitting 70s, Girma is
not a ready to call it a career and settle
for a typical retirement. He is currently
serving as a chairman of board of
directors for Rwanda Air.
Girma, a father of six, and grandfather
for six will be celebrated forever
whenever one looks at Ethiopian
Airlines, a company that carries the
nation’s aspirations by doing great even
Nigatu, MD of Ernest & Young
Ethiopia was the keynote speaker.
Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray,
Assistant Deputy Secretary of State
for East Africa, Karl Wyckoff, and Mimi
Alemayehou, Executive Vice President
of OPIC were the other speakers at the
awards dinner. Among others, Fairfax
Technologies, ModernETH, Precise
Consult International, Kabu Cafe and
BGI Ethiopia were major sponsors of
the event.
Photo by Matt Andrea
The Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum has always attracted Ethiopians in Diaspora from almost every walks of life
In Retrospect:
History and Achievements of the Ethiopian
Diaspora Business Forum
By Omer Redi
The Amharic adage that roughly translates to “it gets darker n a new day is about to break” perhaps is equivalent to the
English “it gets worse before it gets better”.
But little, if at all, did the group of young
Ethiopian Diaspora professionals in
North America know that their extreme
frustration from the lack of sustainable
link between the Diaspora community
and their homeland, in fact was a sign
something new and big was about to
start. They may never thought of this
famous Ethiopian motivational maxim
when, eight years ago, they began
discussing on ways to embark on
something unprecedented. May be,
they were also not sure how far their
plan would go. They simply wanted to
engage the Diaspora community to spur
dialogue within the Diaspora community
and to build a bridge with their country
of birth, Ethiopia. Fortunately, they
were not the only ones with this vision
of raising the issue of contributing to
Ethiopia in a meaningful way.
The timing of their initiative coincided
36
with the launch of a new web-based
community magazine, The Ethiopian
American, a non-partisan magazine,
which was also looking for ways
to engage the Ethiopian Diaspora
community on key issues affecting the
community.
In 2004, the magazine and the young
professionals joined forces to stage
one of their successful public events, a
lecture by Getachew Mengistie, who at
the time was the Director General of the
Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office
(EIPO). The purpose of the lecture was
to educate the Ethiopian Diaspora on
the substance of Ethiopia’s trademark
dispute with the Starbucks Corporation
on the use of Ethiopia’s most famous
coffee names: Keffa, Sidamo and
Yirgacheffe. The group assisted both
the EIPO and Oxfam in mobilizing
100,000 petitions against Starbucks.
The success of the lecture and the
awareness it created within the
Ethiopian community in the United
States contributed to Starbucks’
eventual recognition of Ethiopia’s right
to the aforementioned trademarks.
Buoyed by the success of the lecture
series, the magazine and its partners
began to look for ways to enhance
and extend the dialogue to a larger
audience, including for ways to spur
investment and trade in Ethiopia. In
June 2005, the magazine began a new
chapter by organizing the first Ethiopian
Diaspora Business Forum (the “Forum”)
with the generous financial support of
USAID/VEGA Ethiopian AGOA + and
several Diaspora businesses.
Seven years later, the Forum has grew
in every aspect and is going strong,
empowering the Diaspora business
community with valuable information
and enabling the community to
participate in Ethiopia’s economy and
development in a meaningful way.
Since the launch of the Forum, many
important issues have been tackled,
and valuable information have been
shared with the Diaspora community
in the areas of nostalgic trade, trade
and investment with Ethiopia and the
United States, the African Growth
and Opportunities Act (AGOA), trade
and investment financing and related
regulatory affairs.
“Each year, the Forum makes every
effort to provide guidance on taking
advantage of the opportunities and find
solutions for the challenges. Each year,
the Forum comes up with innovative
ways of conveying key messages the
Diaspora wants to make informed
decisions,” added Yohannes.
Last year, the 6th year anniversary of
the Forum was loudly and colourfully
celebrated with a one day symposium
and an awards dinner where Ermias
Amelga was honoured as a pioneer
Diaspora businessperson. Zemedeneh
This year will mark the seventh year
anniversary
since
the
Diaspora
community dialogue and the Forum
begun. While the program this year will
return to the half day format of the past
six years, the organizers are promising
to hold another awards dinner at Hyatt
Regency Hotel, in Washington DC, on
July 14. The organizers also plan to the
first ever Diaspora job fair.
This year, Zemedeneh Negatu of
Ernst & Young will be speaking about
investment opportunities in Ethiopia
while Ethiopia’s Ambassador to
Washington, Girma Birru, and senior
US diplomats are expected to attend EA
Specifically, over the years, the Forum
has proved an effective platform for the
Diaspora community to exchange ideas
and critically important information
about the overall economic situation
back home, the opportunities and
challenges of investing in Ethiopia,
among other major issues.
The
Forum has also focused on providing
information on financing for Diaspora
investors, both in the US and in Ethiopia,
and on useful tips on how to improve the
odds of success.
“Many of our participants have gone
on to invest in Ethiopia and support
their loved ones and the economy of
Ethiopia,” said Yohannes Assefa, the
convenor of the Forum. Each year
brings new possibilities and challenges.
Photo by Matt Andrea
37
Cover Story
Early Ethiopian Diasporas in the U.S.
By Andrew Laurence
If it were not for a photograph published
in the April 2006 U.S. National Park
Service calendar, we may never know
about a group of Ethiopians who came
to America in 1909. The photographer,
Augustus Sherman, was a Registry
Clerk on Ellis Island, the port of entry
for millions of immigrants to the U.S.
He would often take pictures in his
spare time of immigrants that had
to stay over for medical clearance,
further interrogation, or to be picked up
by sponsors. The posed photograph
depicts what may be an extended family
of purported Borana Ethiopians in
traditional dress waiting to be processed
for immigration to the U.S.
One can only imagine what it would have
been like for these rural southwestern
Ethiopian natives who would have had
no knowledge of the outside world. To
make the long trek to the African coast
and then a month long ocean journey
by ship to the New World would have
been beyond their imagination. Landing
in New York with no understanding of
America, the people, food, weather or
way of life only adds to the mystery of
what they might have been told about
where they were going and what they
will be doing.
BORANA ETHIOPIAN IMIGRANTS FROM SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA
ELLIS ISLAND NEW YORK CITY 1902
PHOTOGRAPHER - AUGUSTUS F. SHERMAN, CHIEF REGISTRY CLERK
38
Opposite of the typical image of the
huddled masses, you see a dignified
people, direct and indifferent to their
surrounding.
It is hard to give the exact date of the
first Ethiopian in the United States.
In the 19th century, all of Africa was
often referred to as Ethiopia and there
are many references to Ethiopians in
It is hard to give the exact
date of the first Ethiopian in
the United States. In the 19th
century, all of Africa was often
referred to as Ethiopia and
there are many references to
Ethiopians in literature.
literature. For African Americans, the
location of Ethiopia in the bible did
much to signal salvation from slavery
in America. In fact, in 1808, we have
Ethiopian sea-fearers in New York City
who were invited by African Americans
to a segregated church service that
they convinced the African Americans
to start their own church celebrated
today as Abyssinian Baptist Church in
Harlem, NY.
One can only imagine what it would have been like for these rural
southwestern Ethiopian natives who would have had no knowledge of
the outside world.
As it turns out, the only reasonable
explanation for these “exotic” Africans
to have been brought to the American
shores was to be exhibited in circuses
and zoos according to Michael
Weinstein in a review of the Sherman
photographic exhibit at DePauw
University. Although we can never be
sure of what ever happened to these
Ethiopian pioneers, we can see in this
photograph a strong and proud people.
six, mostly coming from the Beirutbased American University. Engida
Yohannes studied veterinary medicine
at New York University. Makonnen Haile
studied finance at Cornell University
with possibly a few others in animal
husbandry. Makonnen Desta studied
anthropology at Harvard.
Whenever you discover new information
in your research you often have more
questions asked than answered. Were
these intrepid Ethiopian travelers
degraded and disrespected in this
unforgiving nation? We now can only
wonder if the descendants of these
immigrants are still amongst us. We
hope that like others who came to these
shores either by choice or against their
will that they somehow were able to
survive and thrive.
We should take inspiration and
motivation from these early Ethiopians
in the United States to make every
effort ourselves to take advantage of
the opportunities now available in the
Diaspora. Whether in business or the
arts, we do not face the discrimination
that existed for these Ethiopians one
hundred years ago in America. In
addition, we need to document our
family lives and community stories
so that future generations will not be
wondering whatever happened to us EA
(Andrew Laurence is President of the EthiopianAmerican Cultural Center and can be reached at
[email protected])
We do know the first Ethiopian students
to come to the U.S.: Melaku Bayen,
Worku Gobena and Beshawered
Habtewold. They were handpicked by
Atse Haile Selassie to be sent abroad
for modern education. With their royal
credentials, U.S. President Warren
Harding enrolled them in his alma
mater Muskingum College in Ohio. By
the mid 1930’s the number of Ethiopian
college students had risen to about
39
Ethiopia’s New Diaspora Bond:
Will it be Successful this Time?
By Sonia Plaza
EEPCO Millennium
Corporate Bond
Renaissance Dam
Bond
Purpose
Raising fund for
the Electric Power
Corporation
Financing of the Grand
Renaissance Dam
Currency
USD, Euro, and Pound
Sterling and other
convertible currency
also Birr
USD Euro and Pound
Sterling also Birr (they
have the same name)
Minimum denomination
USD 100 but minimum
purchase USD 500
USD/Euros/Sterling 50
Maturity
5,7and 10 years
5 or between 5 and 10
years
Interest
4%, 4.5% and 5%
With out interest
With interest
5 years: Libor +1.25%
6-7 years: Libor +1.5%
8-10 years: Libor +2%
Payment of the bond
• At maturity, the bond
holder can:
• receive the face value
of the bond in foreign
currency
• purchase another
bond with the same
face value
• depostit in foreign
currency or birr
account
• pay for import
commitments
At Maturity
Payment of the Interest
Annually
Every six month
Repayment of the
Interest
• in birr in person
• deposit in foreign
currency or birr
account
• transfer abroad
• repurchase additional
bonds
• Pay for import
commitments
Paid in the currency
in which the bond was
originally purchased
Transferability
the bond can be
transferred to a second
party
the bond can be
transferable to up to
three people
Taxes
Interest income from
the bond free from any
income tax
40
According to the latest issue of
the Economist, diaspora bonds an
idea worth trying. Ethiopia recently
announced the launch of its second
diaspora bond: “Renaissance Dam
Bond”.
The proceeds of the bond will be
used to fund the construction of the
Grand Renaissance Dam. This dam
will be the largest hydroelectric power
plant in Africa when completed (5,250
Mega Watts). The first one was called
the Millennium Corporate bond, and
was for raising funds for the Ethiopian
Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).
The first diaspora bond issuance did
not meet the expectations. Sales were
slow during the first months of offering
despite the efforts of the Commercial
Bank of Ethiopia and the embassies
and consulates to sell them. Some risks
that the diaspora faced were: i) risk
perceptions on the payment ability of
EEPCo on its future earnings from the
operations of the hydroelectric power;
ii) lack of trust in the government as a
guarantor; and iii) political risks.
The second bond has some new
features that probably can make it
work this time: i) the Renaissance
bond is being consolidated with the
Millennium bond; ii) the government
is taking considerable marketing and
awareness-raising
campaigns
to
encourage the diaspora to buy it; iii)
the bond is being offered in minimum
denominations of USD 50 so many
Ethiopians can have access; iv) the
bond can be transferable to up to three
people. It can also be used as collateral
in Ethiopia; v) the Commercial Bank of
Ethiopia is also covering any remittance
fees associated with the purchase of
these bonds. The table below shows a
comparison between the two diaspora
bonds EA
(Sonia Plaza is a Senior Economist at The World
Bank Group. She can be reached through Splaza@
worldbank.org. This article was first published at
World Bank’s Blog - blogs.worldbank.org)
Art and Culture
“
Cutting for Stone
epic novel that
spans continents and generations,
Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable
story of love and betrayal, compassion
and redemption, exile and home that
unfolds across five decades in India,
Ethiopia, and America.
Narrated by Marion Stone, the 688
pages story begins even before Marion
and his twin brother, Shiva, are born
in Addis Ababa’s Missing Hospital (a
mispronunciation of “Mission Hospital”),
with the illicit, years-in-the-making
romance between their parents, Sister
Mary Joseph Praise, a beautiful Indian
nun, and Thomas Stone, a brash,
brilliant British surgeon. Mary and
Thomas meet on a boat out of Madras
in 1947; she follows him to Ethiopia and
to Missing, where they work side by side
for seven years as nurse and doctor.
After Mary dies while giving birth to the
twins – a harrowing, traumatic scene on
the operating table – Thomas vanishes,
and Marion and Shiva grow up with only
a dim sense of who he was, and with a
deep hostility toward him for what they
see as an act of betrayal and cowardice.
The twins are raised by Hema and
Ghosh, two Indian doctors who also
work at Missing, and who shower
Marion and Shiva with love and nurture
their interest in medicine – part of the
deep, almost preternatural connection
42
Marion interns at a hospital in the
Bronx, an underfunded, chaotic place
where the patients are nearly as poor
and desperate as those he had seen at
Missing. It is here that Marion comes to
maturity as a doctor and as a man. It is
here, too, that he meets his father and
takes his first steps toward reconciling
with him. But when the past catches
up to Marion – nearly destroying him
– he must entrust his life to the two
men he thought he trusted least in the
world: the father who abandoned him
and the brother who betrayed him. The
In Cutting for Stone, renowned physician
Abraham Verghese has given us a
remarkable reading experience that
explores the lives of a memorable cast
of characters, many of them doctors;
the insight the novel offers into the
world of medicine, along with its wealth
of precise detail about how doctors
GOT HAS
?
If you are Ethiopian, you probably got
HAS. Interestingly many Ethiopians do
not know that they suffer from HAS.
“
Abraham Verghese’s
Marion and Shiva come of age as
Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution,
and their lives become intertwined with
the nation’s politics. Addis Ababa is a
colorful, cosmopolitan city: the Italians
have left behind cappuccino machines,
Campari umbrellas, and a vibrant
expat community. But they’ve also left
a nation crippled by poverty, hunger,
and authoritarian rule: Ethiopia in the
1960s and 1970s is both bolstered and
trapped by its notorious emperor, Haile
Selassie, and rocked by violence and
civil war. Yet it is not politics but love
that tears the brothers apart: Shiva
sleeps with Genet --- the daughter of
their housekeeper and the girl Marion
has always loved. This second betrayal,
now by the two people this sensitive
young man loves most, sends Marion
into a deep depression. And when
Genet joins a radical political group
fighting for the independence of Eritrea,
Marion’s connection to her forces him
into exile: he sneaks out of Ethiopia and
makes his way to America.
surprising, stunning denouement both
arises from and reenacts the major
themes of Cutting for Stone: love and
betrayal, forgiveness and self-sacrifice,
and the inextricable union of life and
death.
What is HAS
“
the brothers share. They are so close
that Marion, as a boy, thinks of them as
a single entity: ShivaMarion.
“
Book Review
?
18 months ago a group of Mad Men discovered what they called
High Altitude Syndrome [HAS]. They realized that Ethiopians were
born with HAS. Ethiopians were truly different not only at running
those long marathons but were completely on a different mind set.
If you or your brand is suffering from HAS, who better understand
your needs than the very people that diagnosed it in the first place!
251 Communications is a 360o advertising agency that understands
the Ethiopian mind set. With insights into the Ethiopian market, local
and international, we know how to get your message across. We
are just like you. We too have HAS
Abraham Verghese
work, is unparalleled in American
fiction. Verghese is so attuned to the
movements of the heart and of the
mind, so adept at dramatizing the great
themes of human existence, and he has
filled this world with such richly drawn,
fascinating characters, that Cutting
for Stone becomes one of those rare
books one wishes would never end,
an alternate reality that both rivals and
illuminates the real world readers must
return to when the book is closed EA
(This review is from the online books guide, Book
Browse/ www.bookbrowse.com).
Serving in the US and Africa
With a versatile team in Creative Design, PR and Media, Event
Logisitics and Planning, Advisory Pitches, Presentation Design,
and Media Placement, what is done is easier said!
www.251communications.com
[email protected]
Arts
Overlooking African Treasure:
The DIARTSPORA?
Afewwork Tekle receiving awards from
Haileselassie I
By Dr. Desta Meghoo
Ethiopian born, The Most Honorable
Maitre
Artiste
World
Laureate
Afewerk Tekle reflected Africa’s
glory, significance and aspirations
with the world through tremendous
paintings such as “Backbone of
African Civilization,” “African Unity” and
“Maskal Flower.” Most of which have
been displayed in the most prestigious
museums and galleries over the past
5 decades in Africa, Russia, USA,
and Europe.
While South African
singer, Miriam Makeba, aka Mama
Africa, popularized African music as
she actively campaigned to demolish
the racist apartheid system of Azania.
“Eyes on Tomorrow”, “Homeland” and
“Pata Pata” all made the world too
familiar with traditional Africa sounds
blended with modern instrumentation
and arrangements. Though banned
from her homeland, her voice was an
important part of the concerted effort
to establish the now apartheid free
South Africa. Then there was Jamaica
born reggae icon, Honorable Rebel Bob
Marley. He is best known for singing
songs of Africa, with emphasis on
Ethiopia. “Africa Unite”, “Exodus” and
“Redemption Song” are all compositions
that reflect African Diaspora’s desire
44
to “return home” and the potential of
Africa once her sons and daughters
are reunited with long lost brothers
and sisters separated due to the
Transatlantic slave trade. The arts have
played a significant role post-slavery
and post colonial periods for Africans
at home and abroad. Songs, poems,
contemporary art and such have helped
Africans remain connected with their
ancestral homeland, while providing a
sense of identity and self determination
the AU Diaspora Ministerial Meeting
drafting committee in October 2008
with the Honorable Ambassador Baba
Dudley Thompson amongst other
concerned Pan Africans, I was looking
forward to this final Declaration. Would
this declaration “set the captives free”
according to Bob Marley’s “Exodus”? I
envisioned a document that would rally
or at least inspire well known African
Artists to come on board not only to
popularize the notion of a re-United
The arts have played a significant role post-slavery and post
colonial periods for Africans at home and abroad.
to protect and promote the essence of
a People. Arguably, we expect it would
be one of the African Union’s important
elements and strategies in their recent
Program of Action developed as a road
map for African unity with her Diaspora.
The highly publicized Global African
Diaspora Summit closed on May 28th
in Sandton, South Africa produced a
lofty but necessary declaration. After
reading through the recalling, lauding,
acknowledging and recognizing filled
Pre Amble, I eagerly awaited the heart
of a document. As one who served on
Africa but to ensure this important
campaign is seen and heard throughout
the world. We all know messages are
much wider disseminated and received
when presented through music or art;
after all how many of us believe in
politician’s plans. Through the arts the
voice of the people can be heard and
seen. Sadly, that was not the case and
Arts and culture received the following
attention in the Declaration of the Global
African Summit Program of Action.
“III. B. Arts and Culture
f) Promote the coordination and funding
45
of cultural exchange programmes
between Africa and the Diaspora;
g) Further encourage and disseminate
information to all Member States
on African-Diaspora projects which
are being implemented such as the
Museum of Black Civilisations, an
African Remembrance Square, the
African Renaissance Monument, the
Joseph Project and slave route;
h) Support, encourage and promote
the celebration of global observance
days as symbols of solidarity for
the commemoration of the common
opportunity to help realize the above
and other important items asserted in
the Declaration Program of Action. As
Africa lacks to resources to properly
promote the Diaspora campaign, the
arts can be an answer to bridging the
gap between governments and the
grass roots. Let us take a leaf from our
history books and from the works of
Maitre Afework, Marley and Makeba
who impacted the world, growing
social consciousness of Africans and
concerned people of all the world to
“open your eyes and look within, are
Mulatu Astake
Bob Marley is an icon in the African Diaspora Arts World
heritage and vision of Africa and its
Diaspora, in order to strengthen PanAfrican unity and identity, in particular,
Africa Day, African Union Day, Black
History Month and Emancipation Day;”
To view the full Declaration please visit.
h t t p: // m i s s i o n s . i t u . i n t /~ s o u t h a f r/
d o c s / F I N A L% 2 0 D i a s p o r a % 2 0
Declaration-E-25%20May.pdf.
Now these are nice ideas and hopefully
will receive the attention they deserve,
but without marshalling the assets of
our artists and ensuring they help Africa
stay to course of re-unification, I fear we
have produced yet another document
that academicians and politicians will
pat themselves on the shoulder for, while
the masses will never know or have an
46
you satisfied with the life you’re living”
as sang in Exodus. Should we only
rely on the artists when we need to
raise billions for HIV/AIDS, drought and
devastating food shortages? With living
legends and powerhouse artists such
as Ethiopian born Dr. Mualtu Astatke;
Film maker Haile GErima producer
of “Sankofa” and “Teza” both films
that address both African resistance
and return; Ghanaian architect David
Adjaye turning heads and minds when
it comes to contemporary designs. Not
to mention the musical families continue
the legacy of their Fathers such as Sean
Kute and the Marley Clan, all doing what
they can on their own for Africa. Are we
missing an opportunity or are we so
blinded by the glare of the light of the
potential of the African Diaspora that we
cannot see that culture as manifested
through the arts can be a binding force.
I hope that all Africans will realize the
importance of not only African Artists
but of our culture and traditions. Our
culture is our essence. Our tradition
and contemporary cultural expressions
are our historical genetic markers that
define us and have allowed African
civilizations to flourish and thrive
despite the centuries of subjugation
and struggles. Our culture will ensure
our future
I say, let us put our artists to work
for Africa especially the African
DiARTspora, if we want to realize the
lofty and long awaited goals stated in
the Declaration of the Global African
Summit. I leave you with wisdom of
the ancestors expressed so perfectly
in this Ethiopian proverb, “When taken
for granted, gold in one’s hand is
sometimes considered like bronze – so
are people.” EA
(Dr. Desta is a Jamaica born US-educated jurist,
activist and development consultant. She came
to Ethiopia, where she lives now, as Managing
Director of the Bob Marley Foundation in 2005 to
produce “Africa Unite”)

ethiopian diaspora business forum

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