MIDROC Awards 764 Million Birr Bonus as Five-Year Turnaround Powers Record Growth











Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – MIDROC Investment Group, one of Ethiopia’s largest and most diversified private conglomerates, has announced a sweeping 764 million birr bonus for all employees. The decision, revealed during the company’s annual employee recognition and award program at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa, crowns a five-year transformation that has seen MIDROC rise from the risk of collapse to a new era of record profitability and social impact.

From Crisis to Recovery

Addressing thousands of employees and invited guests, Chief Executive Officer Ato Jamal Ahmed traced the company’s recent journey from turbulence to stability. He explained that five years ago MIDROC was staring down the possibility of serious financial strain at a time when Ethiopia itself was grappling with political instability and economic uncertainty. Instead of retreating, management embarked on a comprehensive reform effort—restructuring operations, modernising internal governance and tightening financial controls.

According to Jamal, those reforms have paid off handsomely. The company’s wage bill, a key indicator of both financial health and commitment to employees, has expanded from 1.2 billion birr to 7 billion birr annually. Within the past year alone, salaries grew by 1.83 billion birr. Crucially, MIDROC raised its minimum wage ahead of the government’s own reforms: from 4,000 birr to 5,600 birr last year and again to 6,100 birr this year. “Our salary payment has increased dramatically, showing both our financial strength and our commitment to workers,” Jamal said. “The 764 million birr bonus is a recognition of that effort and the resilience our employees have shown.”

Turnaround Stories and Foreign-Exchange Success

Perhaps the most striking example of this revival is Moha Industries, a subsidiary that only a year ago was battling a loss of 900 million birr. Through what Jamal called “the combined effort of employees and management,” Moha shifted from heavy losses to a high profit within a single year.

Across its diverse portfolio—spanning coffee and tea production, vegetable exports, hotel operations, and mining—MIDROC has become a significant generator of foreign currency. Over the past fiscal year the group earned more than a quarter of a billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange, which Jamal described as “a national treasure obtained by digging soil and mining stones.” These earnings are particularly valuable in an economy where hard currency remains scarce and highly sought after.

Major Projects Nearing Completion

Looking ahead, MIDROC has accelerated an ambitious pipeline of projects scheduled for completion by 2026 (European calendar). A high-tech coal mining facility at Arjo Gudeti has already finished construction and is ready for inauguration.

In the hospitality sector, the long-anticipated Jimma Palace and Dembidolo Hotel are fully completed and preparing to open their doors. Other signature developments—including a four-star Sheraton Hotel in both Jimma and Hawassa and the first phase of the Muhammadiya Village—are approaching completion.

The company is also finalising an antibiotic drug factory, now 90 percent complete, which is expected to strengthen Ethiopia’s pharmaceutical industry and reduce the country’s dependence on imported medicines. A modern hospital project, long in the making, is similarly nearing completion and is expected to become a benchmark for healthcare provision in Ethiopia.

Social Responsibility and Community Investment

MIDROC’s expansion has been accompanied by a strong emphasis on social responsibility. The group has allocated ten percent of its profits—beyond mandatory government obligations—to projects supporting housing, electricity, and water supply for rural workers. In the past fiscal year alone it spent 1.1 billion birr on social services, including the construction of bread and flour factories, food centres, and the purchase of kidney dialysis machines for hospitals.

Ato Jamal emphasised that this dual focus on profitability and social welfare defines the company’s identity. “MIDROC is a national asset,” he said. “It belongs to the public as much as to its owners and workers.”

Union Praise and a “Nation Within a Nation”

The guest of honour, Ato Kassahun Fole—President of the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions—praised MIDROC’s inclusive ethos. He highlighted the company’s ability to unite employees from different ethnicities, religions and genders without allowing politics to influence the workplace. Calling MIDROC “a reflection of a nation,” Kassahun commended its “people-oriented” management and the culture of resolving labour disputes through peaceful social consultations rather than in court.

Kassahun placed MIDROC’s achievements alongside national milestones. He described 2025 as a year of “three great holidays”: the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the celebration of the Ethiopian New Year 2018, and the increase in MIDROC’s minimum wage to 6,100 birr. He credited the company with helping to stabilise domestic markets by voluntarily reducing profit margins on key commodities—such as alfora—in order to limit inflationary pressures.

Founder’s Vision: Protecting the Poor and Building a Middle-Income Nation

Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi, the Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire founder of MIDROC, sent a message to employees that mixed congratulations with a broader national vision. Calling the workforce his “hero and proud MIDROC army,” Al Amoudi celebrated the completion of the Renaissance Dam as a symbol of Ethiopian progress and pledged to create more jobs through new projects.

“My wish is for Ethiopia to have a middle-income society,” he said. “If MIDROC participates widely in this regard, it will benefit all of us. It will also benefit our country. What I wish here is to prevent price inflation and prevent the poor from suffering. Especially if we properly utilise the potential in the agricultural sector of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian people can benefit widely.”

He encouraged employees to view the company as their own and to carry forward the unity and determination that have driven the past five years of success. “The next five years are big and difficult,” he warned, “but we are going to be great. I want you, especially from the bottom, to go together with a clear goal and plan, to teach good intentions and support each other.”

Record Financial Results

The company’s financial performance underscores these sentiments. Presenting the 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year results, Corporate Director of Planning and Reporting Ato Aklilu Mulugeta noted that MIDROC achieved the best performance across all sectors in its history.

Production costs were kept to 89.7 percent of plan, a 55 percent improvement from the previous year. The manufacturing sector exceeded its production targets by 102 percent, while the mining sector achieved 51 percent of target due primarily to price adjustments rather than volume.

Sales reached 112.8 percent of the annual plan, representing an 86 percent increase compared to the previous year. Profit before tax surged to 167.5 percent above the plan—an extraordinary 134.1 percent jump year-on-year. Foreign-exchange earnings hit $263 million, 136 percent of the plan and 39.6 percent higher than the previous year, with the mining sector alone accounting for 75 percent of the total.

In government obligations, MIDROC paid 19.11 billion birr—double the amount of the previous year—while spending 6.9 billion birr on salaries for its 79,701 employees, 37 percent of whom are permanent staff.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

Despite the triumphs, MIDROC faces familiar headwinds: aging equipment, shortages of spare parts and raw materials, foreign exchange constraints, and market and credit limitations. Aklilu noted that in the coming year the group will focus on increasing productivity and profitability through new technology and operating methods, reducing waste, strengthening internal capacity, and expanding market options.

Both CEO Jamal Ahmed and founder Sheikh Al Amoudi underlined that the next five years will be a critical phase—marked by ambitious projects and the need for careful planning. Yet the unprecedented 764 million birr bonus signals that MIDROC is not only rewarding past performance but also investing in the morale and commitment required for the challenges ahead.

A Signal for Ethiopia’s Private Sector

The scale of MIDROC’s bonus and its wider investment programme highlight the growing importance of the private sector in Ethiopia’s economic future. In a country seeking to transition toward middle-income status and to stabilise its domestic market while earning hard currency, the company’s example offers a model of how profit, social responsibility and national development can reinforce one another.

By combining aggressive growth with community investment and wage leadership, MIDROC has shown that a private enterprise can act as both an economic engine and a social stabiliser. The 764 million birr bonus is therefore more than a generous reward: it is a vote of confidence in Ethiopia’s capacity for inclusive and sustainable growth.