Coca-Cola Beverages Inaugurates a 100 million USD bottling plant at Sebeta

Coca-Cola Beverages Inaugurates a 100 million USD bottling plant at Sebeta Sebeta, Ethiopia, May 31 – A new US$100 million Coca-Cola bottling plant at Sebeta in Ethiopia is set to unlock export opportunities, increase local production and ease foreign exchange constraints as it adds 500 employees to the workforce of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in the country. The inauguration of the Sebeta Dima Coca-Cola factory was attended by government representatives, accompanied by CCBA Ethiopia Managing Director Daryl Wilson, CCBA CEO Jacques Vermeulen and Africa President for The Coca-Cola Company Bruno Pietracci. Completion of the bottling plant brings CCBA’s production capacity in Ethiopia to more than 100 million cases a year and will enable the company to integrate the production of inputs such as preforms, closures and other materials, as well as the local production of new products such as Minute Maid Juice, reducing imports and adding to national GDP. The production of these input materials, besides meeting CCBA’s own demand, is planned for the export market to generate foreign exchange and supply the local market to help resolve shortages in the sector. Wilson said the opening of the new plant in Sebeta was another proud milestone in CCBA’s growth in the country and the investment demonstrates confidence in the Ethiopian economy. “The first Coca-Cola bottle was manufactured in 1959 in Addis Ababa in the Abinet Area. “Since then, Coca-Cola has built a very strong local business in Ethiopia over more than six decades of investment, creating shared opportunities for communities and employees as it continues to grow. “We are proud to work with thousands of small businesses throughout the country to serve the millions of Ethiopians who choose to enjoy our products each day. “We hire locally, produce and distribute our products locally and are increasingly sourcing locally through local farmers, suppliers, and retailers,” Wilson said. Construction of the Sebeta plant began in 2019, following the announcement of a $300 million investment over five years to expand CCBA’s operations in Ethiopia. A sixth plant is planned at Hawassa. This commitment was reaffirmed when The Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO, James Quincey, visited Ethiopia in 2020, accompanied by Vermeulen. “CCBA is a proud industry leader in developing increasingly sustainable ways to produce, distribute and sell our products,” said Vermeulen. “We aim to create greater shared opportunity for the business and our host communities across the value chain. This is about more than just money, it’s about a better future for people and their communities everywhere on the African continent,” Vermeulen said. “Through our investments in Ethiopia, we have grown direct employment opportunities from 1,000 in 2012 to over 3,500 in 2022, while more than 70,000 people are beneficiaries of our value chain.” In line with its strong principle of doing business the right way, CCBA has constructed a school at a total cost of $236,000 in Sebeta following consultations with the community to understand their needs. This follows the building of two state-of-the-art school blocks at Shimbit Elementary School near CCBA’s plant in Bahir Dar, benefitting 1,600 students at a total cost of $220,000. CCBA has also set up 17 polyethylene phthalate (PET) collection centers and trained and empowered more than 14,000 women PET collectors in the country, as well as launching 20 million-birr women and youth economic inclusion project in partnership with the Job Creation Commission of Ethiopia. “Our investment in the Sebeta Dima Coca-Cola Factory confirms that we are here for the long haul, and we look forward to many more years of refreshing Ethiopia every day and making this country a better place for all,” said Vermeulen. Pietracci said The Coca-Cola Company believes in Africa’s strong potential as the next growth engine of the global economy. “Africa has a growing and rapidly urbanizing population who is brand conscious, economically active, highly connected, and innovative and will drive the continent’s dynamic growth. “Over the past 90 years in Africa, we have built a pervasive and very strong local business, creating shared opportunity in every country on the continent. This has been one of our greatest strengths and we will continue playing a significant role in Africa,” Pietracci said. About CCBSA CCBA is the 8th largest Coca-Cola bottling partner in the world by revenue, and the largest on the continent. It accounts for over 40% of all Coca-Cola products sold in Africa by volume. With over 17,000 employees in Africa, CCBA services 600 000 customers with a host of international and local brands. The group was formed in July 2016 after the successful combination of the southern and east Africa bottling operations of the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses of The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller plc, and Gutsche Family Investments. CCBA shareholders are currently: The Coca-Cola Company 66.5% and Gutsche Family Investments 33.5%. CCBA operates in 14 countries, including its six key markets of South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, and Namibia, as well as Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, the islands of Comoros and Mayotte, Eswatini, and Lesotho. Tags Coca Cola ethiopia news today ethiopian news Sebeta

CBE lost 1 billion birr due to fraud

CBE lost 1 billion birr due to fraud According to a new survey conducted by the Ministry of Justice, banks have lost 1.8 billion birr due to fraud in the last four years. The results of the new study were unveiled during an event now taking place at the Sheraton Addis Hotel. It disclosed that 50.7 percent of the looting took place at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.  Following, Abyssinia Bank (328.9 million birr), Oromia Bank (161.8 million birr) and Wegagen Bank (155.6 million birr) were the most affected. “Such operations are causing havoc on the financial business,” Fekadu Tsega, the state minister of Justice, warned.

Brain drain in Sub Saharan Africa

Brain drain in Sub Saharan Africa By Bernard Laurendeau, Managing Partner at Laurendeau & Associates Brain drain in Sub Saharan Africa Brain Drain is a severe problem in low- and middle-income countries and particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa. In its 2016 World Economic Outlook[1], the IMF noted that the “outflow of skilled labor and young people seeking better educational opportunities outside the continent’s borders will continue rising, and the trend is worrying”. Impact of brain drain: gap in expertise The impact of brain drain is significant on emerging countries economies. For a country like Ethiopia, the impact can be measured in actual numbers, on GDP and job creation. In the public sector, deals are not optimally negotiated with multinationals- looking to grab opportunities that the opening of certain markets bring like that of telco- directly impacting the government coffers. Policies remain frozen in time making it difficult to attract investors, and hence putting a brake on job creation. In the private sector, diversity and maturity of products offered by banks remains low, decreasing the volume of transactions and overall money velocity in the country. Value chains are inefficient, not integrated, leading to high overhead and high prices for consumers. Startups seldom turn into scaleups as they have a hard time attracting talent that can unleash their power, making it difficult to lead to market-creating innovations[2] in economies that so badly need it. Therefore, expertise in all sectors is crucial for a country like Ethiopia to successfully transition to a middle-income country. Expert secondments sponsored by international development institutions are necessary, with the caveat that they should be temporary otherwise they create an artificial secondary talent market, but not sufficient. Emerging economies require expertise at scale. Reversing the brain drain: a digital brain gain Working remotely was trending before covid-19 burst into our lives. But if there is one positive aspect that the pandemic brought about, it is that lesson that remote work is here to stay. So why not leverage this trend to reverse the brain drain? In January every year, most Ethiopians living abroad come back to Ethiopia and, between visits to family members and touristic escapades, they explore ways to professionally engage with their home country. But after the January honeymoon, romance fizzles in February and disappears by March. Remote engagement can ensure that the romance sustains in February and remains strong until December. But remote work is not enough for the romance to sustain. Most of these engagements are usually built on a foundation of patriotism. Unfortunately, for many, patriotism should be the reason one should feel obliged to offer their expertise on a pro bono basis. Pro bono is not sustainable and usually leads to ill-defined and blurry engagements. Hence, the second ingredient necessary for that romance to sustain is: compensation. Indeed, experts need to be compensated for their brain capital. Filling the expertise gap through a curated expert network There are many experts and very highly skilled professionals who want to engage with their home country regularly. This expertise needs to be curated and linked strategically with clients who need it, and at the right time. A country like Ethiopia is growing rapidly, albeit some challenges. Liberalization of many sectors is expected. Hence, the country needs now more than ever subject-matter expertise in many fields (e.g., private equity, corporate restructuring, international arbitration, digital transformation, investment banking, fund management, talent development, cybersecurity, PR, smart city etc.) and in all verticals (e.g., Agriculture, Health, Medical Devices, Tech, FMCG, Aviation, Telecom, Transportation, etc.). Curated expert networks can reverse the brain drain, ensure a brain gain through digital means, while delivering expertise at scale to emerging economies growing rapidly. [1] International Monetary Fund, October 2016, World Economic Outlook [2] Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo & Karen Dillon, April 2019, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty

From organic waste to high-end tech, how European interest is shifting to Africa’s biogas sector

From organic waste to high-end tech, how European interest is shifting to Africa’s biogas sector Given the national interest, the critical implementation of the DiBiCoo project is to link the leading European biogas producers to the emerging biogas sector in developing countries. Home to the largest cattle population in Africa, with the largest segment of the people located in rural areas, considered the primary energy consumer, Ethiopia is no stranger to renewable energy. Renewable energy like biogas could go back into the account in 1957, but only a tiny portion of the potential is harnessed today. And finding solutions for enormously increasing energy demand is becoming an imperative of our age. In Ethiopia, biogas development mainly comes from small-scale (household) initiatives. The government largely dominates biogas development. Most of the share in biogas-related investments is government-led, while private sector involvement in the biogas market has been minimal. Biogas project implementation is dominated by public-led investments and is far less funded by the private sector. This has, to some extent, attenuated the popularity and the advancement of existing biogas technologies. Three years ago, The Digital Global Biogas Cooperation (DiBiCoo) project was designed with an initial budget of 2.9 million Euros to preclude the factors preventing the biogas sector from enhancing and altering as a substitution for energy supply. It is an effort to link European technology providers with emerging and developing markets for new investment opportunities and knowledge transfer. It is a cooperation project between biogas technology exporting and importing countries, with the overall objective to support the European biogas/biomethane industry by preparing markets to import sustainable biogas/biomethane technologies from Europe to developing emerging countries. Several factors have converged, making international organizations significant in developing countries’ providing attractive options to Ethiopia’s biogas sectors. For one, Ethiopia is receiving funds from several international organizations as a loan or in-kind donations and cash towards promoting renewable energy technologies in rural communities in Ethiopia. Thus, these international organizations have great potential in financing biogas projects in developing countries. One of Ethiopia’s best options for future financing for biogas projects is the Development Bank of Ethiopia. The DBE offers three funding possibilities: renewable energy finance, lease finance, and project finance. Considering the amount of money required for large-scale biogas projects, the project finance option could be the preferred solution. Ethiopia was selected as a potential future market for the biogas sector. The global energy demand is growing and is expected to continue to grow in the coming decades with the projected growth of the population. With the expansion of energy-dissipative economic activities, Ethiopia also seeks to address the ever-growing energy needs, which makes a case for renewables increasingly bright. In the two-year collaboration through DiBiCoo, several biogas stakeholders from Ethiopia have obtained the capacity building; stakeholders from Ethiopia also visited biogas plants in Germany and South Africa, attended 11 web seminars, and three days of biogas business model training, and capacity building through training delivered by top biogas experts from all over the world. As well as profoundly supporting one demo case up to the pre-feasibility study and three follower cases from Ethiopia, several technical reports have also been published related to Ethiopian and other partner countries’ biogas sector experience. The project partners include stakeholders such as the Ethiopian Rural Energy Development and Promotion Center (EREDPC), Ministry of water, irrigation and energy (MOWIE), Lake Tana and Other Water bodies Protection and Development Agency, GIZ Ethiopia, etc. The stakeholders are active – from biogas project developers in the country to various other originations and governmental institutions attending workshops and webinars and going on virtual and physical study tours of biogas plants in other countries. The impact of the project has geared positive outcomes as the biogas stakeholder in Ethiopia learns in detail on how to use biogas for other applications other than cooking. Several links have been created with international biogas companies, biogas associations, and experts from Germany, Austria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Indonesia, Ghana, and Argentina. Thus, using those companies and experts for future biogas related activities in Ethiopia. In line with that assessment, the project altered its significant impact towards encouraging the transfer of knowledge and overall growth of the sector. The project enhancing biogas is a key example. The project assists the sector in several aspects especially in capacity building as the training is delivered by top biogas experts from all over the world. Considering the biogas sector in Africa, South Africa’s biogas sector is more developed. One of the partners for this project is Germany, which is the world’s leading biogas producer. The project is essential to the future of the biogas sector in developing countries, providing an environmentally sustainable alternative to the more conventional use of organic waste to produce biogas and a waste management option. It is an environmentally friendly solution and helps mitigate methane emissions that would have otherwise escaped from landfills. Thus, the project helps in avoiding environmental pollution that would have otherwise run from landfills and creates environmental pollution. The project will be finalized in the coming months; intending to optimize the biogas sector, the task set for disseminating the technology, investment opportunities, and adequate knowledge transfer in the short run are the areas where the DiBiCoo project focuses. Visit: https://dibicoo.org/  https://biogasplatform.eu/ Tags Biogas in Ethiopia Development Bank of Ethiopia DiBiCoo EREDPC GIZ Ethiopia MOWIE

FSD Ethiopia appoints Admassu Tadesse as Chairman

FSD Ethiopia appoints Admassu Tadesse as Chairman Press Release FSD Ethiopia is pleased to announce esteemed international banker and executive business leader Admassu Tadesse as Chairman of our Non-executive Board of Directors. Mr. Tadesse brings his extensive experience across Africa and internationally to our organization. As the President Emeritus and Group MD of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group, Mr. Tadesse has spearheaded critical reforms that have transformed strategic development initiatives. In 2019, he was recognized as African Banker of the Year, and TDB Group was named African Bank of the Year in 2020. We are honored to welcome Mr. Tadesse and look forward to benefiting from his expertise in African finance markets, global partnership, and development. Tags admassu tadesse ethiopian news

Ride: Driving out of dominance?

Ride: Driving out of dominance? Ride, the byproduct of Hybrid Design, became the first of its kind by being a mobility service platform in Ethiopia. It is currently one of the biggest ride-sharing applications in Ethiopia [and is worth more than hundred millions of dollars]. It didn’t start profits right away, it took some time to adjust the market and convince consumers. For two years it set off to fix the marketplace and work without profit by not taking a commission from drivers and allowing drivers to keep all the profits themselves, the first year with SMS order service and the second year with an app-based launch. After clearing the water and making sure that it was a feasible marketplace Ride worked on marginalizing its profit through commission. Other platforms have come into view with the same structure since Ride launched. Zay-Ride who initiated the first application for the ride-hailing system, companies like Ze-Lucy that branched out from Ride itself, Taxiye, Pick Pick, and more have emerged into the market. Feres arrived late to the scene, kickstarting in February 2020 after plenty of other ride hauling applications had already launched their platforms. Despite arriving late to the scene, it surpassed its competitors and is now in the race to take top place. There are a lot of factors contributing to the success of Feres. The initial marketing strategy was a tactical approach taken by the company and is one of the reasons for its success. The inclusion of incentives is another factor. Both the customers and the drivers were benefiting from this. Plus,  the demand for a platform like this had already grown, because its predecessors had already set out the road map. Currently, it seems as if Feres is competing for dominance in a market that was initiated by Ride. So what is Feres doing right that the rest aren’t? And what is next for Ride? The drivers play a major role in all this, they are the backbone of the ecosystem and from their viewpoint, they believe there are plenty of radical differences between the two platforms that might contribute to the drawbacks of Ride. After talking to a few drivers that had left Ride, and some who were working for both but preferred Feres, they shed a light on some key points causing this significant demand gap. The drivers believe the vetting process of Ride is a bit more bureaucratic than a digital platform needs to be, to register a vehicle the driver needs to take their car to the Ride garage where they will be charged extra fees to get checked. “This is unnecessary,” says one driver, he believed that as long as there is proof of document that the vehicle has been inspected by the authorized party that should suffice. He further goes on to compare Ride’s vetting process to that of Feres and he believes it’s far simpler. He goes on to say “I have never seen their office to this day, I finished registering my car online and they have helped me with all I needed without calling me to their office”. Another crucial issue the drivers mentioned in the queue time. Ride uses a mechanism that will put drivers on the waiting list until it’s their turn. It’s a first come first serve queue algorithm. Even when a customer is 10m close to a driver, the system will pick a driver within a 0.2km radius according to their turn. This system can be inconvenient at times. Whereas Feres on the other hand has a Nearby system, meaning the driver closest to the customer will receive the request. This isn’t the only difference with their systems, one driver says “Feres application has never failed me, I have used it for over a year and it had not once glitched or stopped. The Ride application on the other hand has stopped working or the system hasn’t responded to me more than once” He goes on to explain how Feres’s software is constantly being updated with new and more advanced features. The drivers also mentioned the corporate services, both the platforms had this feature but working on corporate means the money isn’t paid upfront by customers. Feres has an integrated system and as soon as one corporate trip is complete money will be deposited into the driver’s account through E-birr, they have not only incorporated digital payment, but they have also made it swift to use.  Moreover, it’s only recently that Ride has integrated digital payment in the form of Telebirr and CBEbirr. Ride’s corporate service is different, for a driver to get a payment from the corporate service he/she has given, they have to go to the office and fill out a form and follow a long line of procedures. ” It is honestly tiring, and because of this we are forced to decline most corporate requests,” says one of the Ride drivers, “Declining a request also means you are put on the last of the queue, and you would have to wait another 2 hours to get a new request.” Finally, looking at the incentives the drivers receive in all this, Ride takes a 12% commission from each driver whilst Feres only takes 8%. In addition to this Feres gives bonuses to its drivers for a certain amount of trips. For example, if drivers can make over 50 trips over a week they will be able to get an additional 200 birr bonus. Feres has brought with it a lot more advancement and service quality. Ride, despite its popularity and demand due to its initial arrival, won’t maintain its superiority for long if it stays on its current trajectory. Tags feres taxi ride taxi zayride

Ethiopian Airlines to order five Boeing 777 Freighters

Ethiopian Airlines to order five Boeing 777 Freighters Tags ethiopian airlines

Foreign banks who wants to operate in Ethiopia must partner with Local banks

Foreign banks who wants to operate in Ethiopia must partner with Local banks Foreign banks seeking to operate in Ethiopian following liberalisation of the country’s banking sector would be required to do so in partnership with local banks. Business Insider Africa observes that this could give room to some mergers and acquisitions in the Ethiopian banking sector. Ethiopia is in the process of liberalising its banking sector, with the aim of ending a decades-long restrictive banking policy that has prevented foreign banks from operating in the country. One of the newly proposed rules that would guide Ethiopia’s banking sector liberalisation is that foreign banks hoping to operate in the Horn of Africa country must do so in partnership with local banks. This was disclosed by the lead consultant that is overseeing the liberalisation process, who also mentioned that only regional banks are eligible to the opportunity for now. “The opening up might only be limited to regional banks in a joint venture basis with local banks… That will be easily manageable for the central bank. The first target is to boost the foreign currency inflow. There are many legal framework revisions underway and many are in a draft stage,” the consultant was quoted by Ethiopian newspaper The Reporter. The important caveat is coming just months after the Ethiopian Government announced that it had constituted a liberalisation committee whose job it is to establish the modalities that would guide the liberalisation process. The implication, therefore, is that we might be seeing some mergers and acquisitions in the Ethiopian banking sector anytime soon. Business Insider Africa reported earlier that the Ethiopian banking sector liberalisation committee has begun working towards replacing the country’s decades-old financial services code with a new one. The primary aim of the new financial services code is to end Ethiopia’s restrictive banking policy which has, up till now, prevented foreign banks from investing and setting up shops in the country. The first draft of the new code is expected to be ready by December 2022. It will, among other things, stipulate the modalities for foreign banks to operate in Ethiopia. Recall that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was the first to disclose Ethiopia’s ongoing plan to open its banking sector to foreign banks. Last month, he declared that “we will bring foreign banks because we need additional wealth and hard currency. Regarding this, the government is now preparing a policy amendment. Once preconditions are met and banks are prepared, we will (implement) that.” The banking reforms in Ethiopia presents an opportunity for some of Africa’s biggest banks to position themselves in the Horn of Africa country.

FIFA World Cup Trophy has finally arrived in Ethiopia!

FIFA World Cup Trophy has finally arrived in Ethiopia! FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour has officially begun with Her Excellency President Sahle-Work Zewde accepting the Trophy at the National Palace. During the reception, CCBA-Ethiopia Managing Director Daryl Wilson stated “as Ethiopia is amongst the selected 51 countries in the world and first of the nine countries in the African Continent, the trophy tour presents a unique opportunity for all of us to showcase our beautiful country Ethiopia to the world” The trophy will be showcased at Mesqel Square tomorrow May 25th, starting from 10 AM.Make sure you bring your entrance tickets for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of touring and taking pictures with the actual #FIFA WorldCup Trophy. #CCBAEthiopia #BelievingIsMagic #RealMagic Tags ethiopian news world cup