ADDIS ABABA (UNDP Ethiopia)–Three Ethiopian entrepreneurs, a young woman and man as well as a seasoned entrepreneur received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award on Thursday 16 November 2017 during this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) celebrations which was celebrated under the theme ‘Entrepreneurship Creates Jobs’ by rolling out a series of events nationwide targeting over 150 thousand people across the country.
It was the seventh time that Ethiopia celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week and the event was aimed at providing a platform for the private sector, high school and university students, policy makers as well as other stakeholders to interact around the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship in the country. It was noted that the Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDC-Ethiopia) hosted the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Week event in Ethiopia.
Winner of Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2017
Meron Seid is the founder and director of Meron Leather Exotica, an emerging high-quality leather product company based in Addis Ababa. She started her business in 2010 with just one sewing machine. But today her business expanded in quality, diversity and creativity employing more than 20 youth.
Meron’s passion and hard work coupled with the right entrepreneurial mindset and personal integrity are the secrets for her success.
Her products are already making their ways to 5 European and Asian countries. She is also working with international research and development institutions towards introducing Ethiopia’s unique leather product brand.
Winner of Young Male Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Alebachew Mihirete, started his business, Alebachew and Mastewal Weaving, with the aim of improving his income by investing in the untapped cultural clothes production industry.
He established the business with a capital of just 6,000 Birr in Bahir Dar then expanded it to Addis Ababa and Arba Minch. Initially, his products were limited to traditional Ethiopian cultural clothes called ‘Gabi’ and ‘Netela’ but through time he expanded his production capacity and diversity.
Alebachew’s company is now exporting up to 300 cultural dresses weekly to the United States and Israel with the capital of 17 million Br employing more than 460 people.
Alebachew is very grateful for the support that he got from different entities including Entrepreneurship Development Center. He often says, “I am what I am today because I smartly used the opportunities available for entrepreneurs properly.”
Winner of Seasoned Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Ato Belete Beyene, owner of Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services Plc and HILINA Enriched Foods, quit his pilot training school to join Addis Ababa University Business School to pursue his dream as an entrepreneur.
He started his first business after he was forced to leave his job at the FAFA Food Complex in 1992. He was able to commence his own business on the food sector along with his wife and his two friends. Within 3 years, he secured a land around Kality area in Addis Ababa and established TENA FOOD Factory.
In 2000, when the Aseb iodized Salt Mixing Factory closed, he established iodized salt manufacturing factory and solved the supply problem in the country. Overall, Ato Belete established 3 companies and a laboratory within 17 years since 1993. Currently, HILINA Enriched Foods and Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services PLC are the core companies he is working on.
HILINA Enriched Foods was established in 2006 to undertake the manufacturing of food products to combat the various forms of malnutrition and other micronutrient deficiencies affecting children and other vulnerable groups. Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services PLC has also become the first accredited private food laboratory in the country providing a wide variety of micro-biological, chemical and physical tests on food products.
One of the factors contributing for Ato Belete’s success is his strong desire to excel through hard work.
Source: UNDP Ethiopia
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