ADDIS ABAB (PRWeb)– API Renewable Energy PLC launches Ethiopia’s first commercial-scale biodiesel refinery in the Adama Industrial Zone. At the event ceremony held at Hilton Hotel Addis Ababa, API and Moneta Technologies, SC signed an agreement to use “Amole” for payment of seeds and services to community farmers.
The goals of API are to rehabilitate degraded lands, create large-scale employment and improve the region’s environment while financially including over half a million farmers using “Amole” digital wallet.
Amole has signed up over quarter a million subscribers since it launched in July 2018 and will offer the community farmers, rural cooperatives, regional governments and NGO’s a digital commerce platform. Amole will be used to pay farmers for seeds and services, pay workers salary, buy goods and credits from rural cooperatives; all will have access to Dashen Bank’s extensive branch network, mobile money agents and Amole merchants to financially include the half a million community farmers into a digital ecosystem. API and Amole will jointly develop additional opportunities in digital payment capabilities for API’s entire supply and demand chain business.
◌ Ethiopia: Amole – Dashen Bank launches new Ethiopian digital wallet called ‘Amole’
Marcos Bitew, CEO of API, said, “API and Amole partnership will bring financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked farmers, API is happy to partner with Amole, our goal for creation of over half a million farm jobs would result in tremendous benefit for the local communities.”
Partnering closely with local communities, API invested in seedling development, nursery bed preparation, planting, caretaker training and education of local farmers regarding the benefits of cultivating biofuel crops. This API effort—the first initiative of its kind in the region—resulted in the world’s largest plantation of Jatropha with 1.4 million hectares and the creation of over half a million farm jobs.
The community provides labor during land preparation and planting, protects the project area from animals and harvests and supplies Jatropha oil seeds. API buys Jatropha seeds from the community farmers and will provide daily and monthly salaries of project workers through Amole.
“By introducing Amole with such initiatives like API’s, we are enabling commerce in the rural communities by supporting farmers, cooperatives, local government, NGO’s and merchants in a sustainable digital ecosystem that goes beyond payment transactions,” said Yemiru Chanyalew, the CEO of Moneta Technologies, SC. “There are many kinds of digital services we can enable with Amole to support the rural communities to create jobs, enable commerce, facilitate pension payments, provide micro insurance and lending plus much more…” Yemiru added. ■
About API Renewable Energy PLC
API is a public-private partnership formed to develop sustainable energy production and economic growth, API Renewable Energy PLC, was founded in Ethiopia in 2009. With a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility, API’s ambitions for developing the biofuel industry in Ethiopia are built on three pillars: community, government and company.
API has partnered with a wide range of research and development entities, technology providers and end users, including: the India National Oil Seed Research Institute, Makerere University, Mekelle University, Mesfin Industrial Engineering, Messobo Cement Factory, Nile Petroleum Co. LTD, Tigray Co-operative Agency, and Yale University.
API has also worked closely with UNDP Ethiopia on climate change mitigation—specifically the use of biomass in the cement industry and the development of carbon credits; in addition, API is working expanding the renewable energy sector and proper usage of agro waste of energy with ISWAS Group LLC and Green Fuel Solutions.
Source: PRWeb