Total Ethiopia Keeps Energizing by Abyssinia Business Network / ABN /

Total

Ethiopia

Thibault Lesueur

Total Ethiopia Managing Director

Keeps Energizing 2

YEAR NO 24

የካቲት ወር 2012

February 2020

Ethiopia 50.00 birr , USA 5.00 $ , Europe 5 .00 Euro , South Africa 25.00 Rand , Kenya 500 Sh ,UAE 10.00AED

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Editorial Team MANAGING DIRECTOR

Editorial

Daniel Tiruneh

MANAGING EDITOR Getachew Alemu

EDITOR IN CHIEF Aklile Tsige

CONSULTANCY Zeima Ahmed

STAFF WRITERS Mekonnen Hailu Ketema Kebede Chacha Hiwot Salelew

Teshome Fantahun

REPORTER

Josephine Wawira Kamba Anthony Joseph Oduha

Designer Daniel Tiruheh Photo Sol Image

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Rahel Tesfaye

Distribution Hailu Abesse

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Renewing History The hospitality and tourism industry in Ethiopia has reportedly been growing in a crawling rate; but many argue that an alarming rise should have been witnessed in the sector if key stakeholders and government’s commitment had been as the nation’s desire. So far the country’s effort in tourism and related development remains nonmoving and willy-nilly. Expected job opportunities from the sector also remain a dream of distance future and the nation couldn’t reap as much fruit as it needs to have. However we have to recognize and acknowledge the attempts being undertaken by the incumbent government to create and develop tourist attractions across the country. One recent development is the construction, restoration and inauguration of the Unity Park that took only six months for completion. The Unity Park as its name implies stands as a symbol for unity among the various nations nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, as a symbol for rich historical, natural and cultural heritages of the nation, as a symbol for source of inspiration to undertake any project in the country. Once a torture and butchery site, the 20 hectares of the palace compound has now got new face for all ages of visitors; this untouched and confined spot was for long period of time a site people never give a look at, and a site where no one was allowed to take pictures around. Despite the various socio-economic and political crises across the country, we have to appreciate this initiative taken by the FDRE Premier Dr. Abiy Ahmed who has significantly contributed to the realization of the five billion birr project, boosting the number of tourist destinations in the capital Addis Ababa in particular and Ethiopia in general. Most importantly, it appears an initiative that provides a one-stop tourist service, showcasing the various natural, cultural, historical and political landscapes of Ethiopians over the past 130 plus years. Renewing our past and shaping our future is like killing two birds with a stone; it adds beauty to the site and generates income to the nation. May the Lord open our eyes to unveil lots of our hidden treasures!

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The battle of Adwa had a significant national and international consequences and it occupied a unique place in the Ethiopian and African historiography

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CONTENTS

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Keeps Energizing

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“

nity Park symbolizes our ability to come together for a common goal and cross the finish line by creating exquisite lasting prints of our collective worth

”

FDRE Premier Abiy Ahmed /PhD/

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Mama’s Kitchen at Unity Park Established in 2004 E.C., Mama’s Kitchen aims at advancing modern hospitality concepts in Ethiopia. Owned by Girma Degu who has established himself working in leading hotels such as Hilton Addis and Sheraton Addis Hotels and worked his way into being recognized for his hard work and diligence service. After performing a lot of consultancy services for talk of the town hotels, restaurants and clubs, Girma’s dream to open his own business has ultimately come true. His first branch of Mama’s Kitchen chain which soon grew to be legendary for its unique dining menu with the best customer service in town-Baritone Lounge and Restaurant was opened in 2008 E.C, which was followed by Royal Lounge in 2009 E.C. Mama’s Inn branches opened at Bole 22 in 2010 E.C. and Mama’s Inn at Meskel Flower branch in 2011 E.C. In order to host Mama’s Kitchen international and regional guests, Mama’s Kitchen Unity Park was opened in 2012 E.C after winning a bid floated by the Unity Park Administration. Mama’s Kitchen owner and General Manager, Girma Degu said, “Getting into Unity Park has really paved ways to promote our business to different visitors, mainly high profile personalities coming from different parts of the world, including Heads of States and Ministers.” 08

“

The Unity Park, indeed, remains a lesson to all of us that we can do anything in a short period of time with good spirit and shared vision, and also a platform to develop good working- culture

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

The owner further noted that Mama’s Kitchen offers all types of services it’s rendering in its other branches, maintaining all the quality and the standards set by the organization. “The Unity Park, indeed, remains a lesson to all of us that we can do anything in a short period of time with good spirit and shared vision, and also a platform to develop good working- culture” said Girma, adding that all Ethiopians have moral obligation to contribute significantly to national image

building endeavors being undertaken in the country. Ever since the Park opened lots of local and foreign tourists have been flocking to this wonderful site, whose advantages are two folds: income generation and image- building benefits. They all are witnessing the beauty and convenience of the place that was once a place to bury and kill citizens for mostly political reasons. Upon closing his remarks, Girma underpinned that

Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed needs to be appreciated and acknowledged for his relentless efforts in changing the once-abandoned and forgotten site of the Grand Palace into a very welcoming and stupendous place in the African capital. Now in its eight years successful operations at different branches, Mama’s Kitchen chain has currently created job opportunities for over 360 professionals in the hospitality industry. The kitchen staffs at Mama’s Kitchen are amongst the finest, bringing with them experiences from cooking in five star hotels.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Exclusive

Total Ethiopia Keeps Energizing

By Aklile Tsige

otal, a French multinational integrated oil and gas company, was founded in 1924 and one of the seven “Super major” oil companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Total is also a large scale chemicals manufacturer. Total has its head office in the Tour Total in La Défense district in Courbevoie, west of Paris. Operating in more than 130 countries worldwide, Total Group has been engaged in exploration, production and distribution of refined oil, petrochemicals fuel for aviation, lubricants and various energy products. Ready to celebrate its 70-year-journey in Ethiopia, Total Group has decided to select Ethiopia to launch its new lubricants package in Africa as the first market. The launching event was held on Feb 20, 2020 at Hayat Regency Hotel. Aklile Tsige compiles the historical background of the Group while speaking to Thibault Lesueur, Total Ethiopia Managing Director on company’s operation in Ethiopia and a newly launched lubricants package. 10

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

In 1954, CFP introduced its downstream product Total brand of gasoline in the African continent and Europe. In 1980, Total Petroleum (North America) Ltd., a company controlled 50% by CFP, bought the American refining and marketing assets of Vickers Petroleum as part of a sell-off by Esmark of its energy holdings. This purchase gave Total refining capacity, transportation, and a network of 350 service stations in 20 states. The company renamed itself Total CFP in 1985, to build on the popularity of its gasoline brand. Later in 1991, the name was changed to Total, when it became a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The French government, who used to control more than 30 percent of the company’s stock in 1991, reduced its stake in the firm to less than 1 percent by 1996. In the time period between 1990 and 1994, foreign ownership of the firm increased from 23 per cent to 44 per cent.

Thibault Lesueur Total Ethiopia Managing Director

Throwback The company was founded after World War I, when then French President Raymond Poincare rejected the idea of forming a partnership with Royal Dutch Shell in favor of creating an entirely French oil company. At Poincaré’s behest, Col. Ernest Mercier with the support of ninety banks and companies founded Total on 28 March 1924, as the Compagnie française des pétroles (CFP), literally the “French Petroleum Company”. Petroleum was seen as vital in the case of a new war with Germany.

The company during the 1930s was engaged in exploration and production, primarily from the Middle East. Its first refinery began operating in Normandy in 1933. After World War II, CFP engaged in oil exploration in Venezuela, Canada, and Africa while pursuing energy sources within France. Exploration in Algeria, then a French colony, began in 1946, with Algeria becoming a leading source of oil in the 1950s.

Meanwhile, Total continued to expand its retail presence in North America under several brand names. In 1989, Denver Colorado, based Total Petroleum, Total CFP’s North American unit, purchased 125 Road Runner retail locations from Texarkana Texasbased Truman Arnold Companies. By 1993, Total Petroleum was operating 2,600 retail stores under the Vickers, Apco, Road Runner, and Total brands. That year, the company began remodeling and rebranding all of its North American gasoline and

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

convenience stores to use the Total name. Only four years later, Total sold its North American refining and retail operations to Ultramar Diamond Shamrock for $400 million in stock and $414 million in assumed debt. After Total’s takeover of Petrofina of Belgium in 1999, it became known as Total Fina. Afterwards it also acquired Elf Aquitaine. First named TotalFinaElf after the merger in 2000, it was later renamed back to Total on 6 May 2003. During that rebranding, the current globe logo was unveiled. In May 2006, Saudi Aramco and TOTAL signed a MOU to develop the Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical project in Saudi Arabia which targeted 400,000 barrels per day (bpd). On 21 September 2008, the two companies officially established a joint venture called SAUDI ARAMCO TOTAL Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP)- in which a 62.5% stake was held by Saudi Aramco and the balance 37.5% held by TOTAL. In February 2015, Total unveiled plans to cut 180 jobs in the United Kingdom, reduce refinery capacity and slow spending on North Sea fields after it fell to a $5.7bn finalquarter loss. The company said it would also sell off $5bn worth of assets worldwide and cut exploration costs by 30%. In June 2016, Total signed a $224M deal to buy Lampiris, the third largest Belgian supplier of gas and renewable energy to expand its gas and power distribution activities. In July 2016, Total agreed to buy French battery maker SAFT Group. in a $1.1bn deal, to boost its development in 12

renewable energy and electricity businesses. In August 2017, Total announced the acquisition of Maersk Oil for $7.45 billion in a share and debt transaction. This deal will position Total as the second operator in the North Sea. In 2016 Total also created two new corporate divisions: namely People & Social Responsibility (Human Resources; Health, Safety & Environment; the Security Division; and a new Civil Society Engagement Division) and Strategy & Innovation (Strategy & Climate Division, responsible for

ensuring that strategy incorporates the 2 °C global warming scenario, Public Affairs, Audit, Research & Development, the Chief Digital Officer and the Senior Vice President Technology). As of 31 December 2014, Total S.A. had 903 subsidiaries consolidated into the group results, together with affiliate investments and joint ventures, mostly in LPG. In addition Total had other equity holdings amounting to about 3bn Euros, treated as investments and was involved in a number of significant joint ventures, mostly relating to LPG and LNG exploration, production and shipping.

2 °C global

warming scenario

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Photo by Spotlight communication

Total Ethiopia Total Ethiopia has been contributing a lot in the country’s energy supply for the past seven decades. As a petroleum product distribution company, it developed its activities by acquiring the Mobil Oil East Africa assets in 2006. Today the company operates with more than 160 service stations and five depots across the country, of which four are aviation depots, and a Fuels and LPG depot, the Dukem depot which has a total storage capacity of eight million liters. According to Thibault Lesueur, Total Ethiopia Managing Director, Total Group has always been committed to supporting needs within the local area to make various communities a better place to live in addition to providing a broad range of expert

technical services. The company actively assists numerous nonprofit organizations that enhance communities and truly make a difference in people’s lives. “We are extremely proud of the company we’ve become today. It has been the dedication of our team members that has allowed Total Group to grow into a trusted provider for your home and your businesses.” Lesueur said. The mission of the company is of multifaceted. He said, “We are always advancing to improve the way we work, enhance our services, and enrich the communities in which we live and work, we also recognize the importance of our employees, customers, suppliers

and communities partners.”

our

“Now the Group is turning itself to a full energy player, taking into account the global climate change, and help its customers and stakeholders get the right answers for their needs.” Moreover, the Managing Director stressed that the company pursues quality and safety in all that we do by optimizing our processes to provide the best services possible, and safety in all that they do. They maintain the highest standards to ensure our services are provided in a safe manner.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Photo by Spotlight communication The Group has, indeed, engaged in multi-energy supply and activities such as oil and gas exploration, trading, transportation, refining, downstream activity which is the marketing of fuel, and petrochemicals that are used for making plastics. It also does the marketing of lubricants for all types of mechanical engines and other products. Very recently the Group has engaged itself in supplying new energies. These are the ones that are environmentally-friendly and emit less or no carbon. These include solar panel which has now become very effective in supporting environmental protection efforts worldwide. Most importantly, Total Group 14

has established facilities for its customers to recharge their electric cars in the company’s stations. “ Now the Group is turning itself to a full energy player, taking into account the global climate change, and help its customers and stakeholders get the right answers for their needs.”, Lesueur said. Some four years back the Group bought a battery producer called SAFT to keep going in the renewable energy supply. It has also made a joint venture business deal with PSA, a French-based car manufacturer to produce together batteries. With regards to safety and standard, the Managing Director said, “The very key thing all of our employees

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

share is safety. The second most important issue is professionalism. Whatever we do here at Total we do it to the standard. It‘s a business standard.” In supporting environmental protection efforts, the company has decided to totally quit the use of plastic bags and cups as packaging materials, and to substitute them with a more environmentally-friendly ones. As far as company’s strategy is concerned, the Managing Director indicated that the Group is not only a mono-energy supplier or an actor; it takes into account the footsteps of its activities to protect the environment, and people’s mobility. Furthermore the company is now becoming digital to be more competitive in the global market.

“There is no sufficient capacity of oil and gas transportation; there is no sufficient capacity of storage; there’s no sufficient capacity of sales and service-providing stations throughout the country. This has to be improved” Total Ethiopia, in fact, is the first energy company which started to implement On Board Computer/ OBC/ on fuel trucks and company owned vehicles. Explaining the use of this OBC, Lesueur said, “For each and every of our trucks that are involved in gas and oil transportation service, we have installed a device that is connected to the OBC as GPS, and provides information on the location, time and speed of the trucks to see if the trucks or the vehicles are being used properly or not.” Total

Ethiopia

famous

for

“

Now the Group is turning itself to a full energy player, taking into account the global climate change, and help its customers and stakeholders get the right answers for their needs.

”

its contribution to community development and discharging its social responsibility across the country. It’s a responsible citizen company that is actively promoting road safety, fighting against malaria, ensuring product quality and developing renewable energies such as solar energy. It also motivates young entrepreneurs through “Total Startupper of the Year” program with the objective to identify and reward the best innovative and sustainable projects developed by young Ethiopian entrepreneurs. Over the past seventy years of service in Ethiopia, the Total Group has never stopped its operation even for a single day despite inconveniences and unfavorable business and sociopolitical landscapes. According to the Managing Director, as any

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

company, Total here in Ethiopia has also faced challenges in its business operation, adding that slow down of the global and national economy, less fuel consumption and some monetary issues like shortage of foreign currency have been major bottlenecks. Lesueur said, “There is no sufficient capacity of oil and gas transportation; there is no sufficient capacity of storage; there’s no sufficient capacity of sales and serviceproviding stations throughout the country. This has to be improved” The Director further stated that very recently the Ethiopian Government has shown interest in establishing a regulatory organ for the sector-Ethiopian Energy Authority, adding that this undoubtedly, address the challenges the sector is facing, and promote some standards such as the use of On Board Computer and adjustment on price margin. On Feb 20, 2020 Total Group selected Ethiopia to launch its new lubricants package in the African continent as the first market. This new dynamic lubricant pack portrays performance at first sight; a rejuvenated, simpler and more compelling range for all Totalbranded automotive lubricants. Besides creating a premium and modernized design of our labels and cans, the new dynamic lubricant packs 16

“There is no sufficient capacity of oil and gas transportation; there is no sufficient capacity of storage; there’s no sufficient capacity of sales and serviceproviding stations throughout the country. This has to be improved” also aim to create an optimized, simpler and more compelling range for all Total-branded automotive lubricants. The new label design is inspired by the dashboard of a car. This concept was validated by a major market study as innovative and customercentric, helping the product stand out significantly from its competitors.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Total is reaffirming its commitment to a better energy as this new innovative & premium design incorporates anticounterfeiting features and improved labels and utility. These changes will contribute to improve Total brand value and will impact all the affiliates of the Group. According to Thibault Lesueur, Total Ethiopia Managing Director, The main features and benefits of the new dynamic lubricant packs are:

Photo by Spotlight communication • New side handle that makes the can handy and easier to carry. • New innovative & premium design that captures modernity and allows easier pouring. • Enhanced product recovery with a more performant can. • Strong brand impact & immediate product line visibility. • QR code that authenticates the product. • New educational pictograms that highlight products’ uses and benefits. • Enlarged viscosity grade

• Product name with the background of the range’s color. • Product’s benefits logo.

the first affiliate to introduce its new lubricant package to its esteemed customers. As a major energy company, he continued, Total is honored to serve and support Ethiopia energy needs in The Managing Director noted its quest for development in the years that Total Ethiopia S.C is to come. “Total Ethiopia will soon pleased and honored to be celebrate its seventy years’ of service in the country.” Thibault Lesueur indicated in his closing remark.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Ethiopian Leather Sector Still Untapped

By Samuel Tekleyesus

By Samuel Tekleyesus Leather manufacturing is one of the oldest industries globally and particularly in Ethiopia which has remained and sprung forward as an economically important sector in terms of engaging citizens intensively and in export 18

business. The Ethiopian leather industry is relatively an older industry with more than 90 years of involvement in processing leather and producing leather products. Ethiopia’s leather and footwear industry has significant international

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

comparative advantages owing to its abundant and available raw materials, highly disciplined workforce and cheap prices. Well-known that the country boasts the largest livestock production in Africa, and the

10th largest in the world. Ethiopian leather and leather products industry encompasses tanning and dressing of leather, manufacture of luggage and hand bags, and manufacture of footwear’s. According to the Ethiopian Investment Commission /EIC/, The firms in the industry produce products such as leather shoes and boots, canvas and rubber shoes, plastic footwear’s, leather upper and lining, leather sole, semi processed skins, leather garment, plastic sole and crust hides, and wet blue hides.

Ethiopia annually produces 2.7 million hides, 8.1 million sheepskins and 7.5 million goatskins. This comparative advantage is further underlined by the fact that the costs of raw hides and skins constitute on average 55-60% of the production of semi processed leather. Ethiopia’s leather and leather product sector produce a range of products from semiprocessed leather in various forms to processed leathers including shoe uppers, leather

garments, stitched upholstery, backpacks, purses, industrial gloves and finished leather. Despite the huge and diversified livestock population available for the leather sector; the industry has not developed as it is expected. Yet, it is showing a great progress on the phase of producing highly value added products. At the end of the GTP-II,the leather industry subsector expected to earn 800 million USD, considering that the leather manufacturing industries could

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

100% enhance their productivity and compete to sell their products in the global market by exerting their full capacity.

of sheep skin

According to the Ethiopian Leather Industries Institute, there are about 1500 registered private traders dealing in raw hides and skins an important force in the industry through the operation of rural operation network supplying raw hides and skins through long chain (small collectors, small traders, middle and heavy suppliers) to the tanneries in the country. Almost 100% of sheep skin is supplied in wet salted. About 75% of goats’ skin supplied in wet salted and the rest 25% air dried. With regard to the preservation method of cattle hide 10% fresh, 60% are in wet salted and 30% air dried. Around 8.5 million pieces sheep skin, 7 million pieces goat skin and 1.2 million pieces hides are supplied to the tanneries per annum. It has been estimated to recover 96%, 93% and 36% of sheep skin, goat skin and cattle hides respectively and the rest being uncollected or consumed by rural tanners. There are 32 tanneries nationwide converting hides and skin to different types of finished leather. This sector is relatively at its mature stage and has successfully moved to the production and export of higher value-added and fully processed finished leather. There is a possibility of producing up to 500 million square feet of finished leather per year. Footwear Industry is at an infant stage of development in the country only with two factories before 1991 but at present it has reached 24 medium and large scale footwear manufacturers. The production capacity of shoe factories including production of Small and Micro enterprises rose to 15 million pairs per year. Therefore, the shoe industry is an emerging and promising industry in the country. Besides, there are 23 garments and goods factories 20

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

and three glove factories producing leather gloves, garments, bags and different kinds of leather products. This industry, particularly glove production is an emerging segment and appears to be more promising. Ethiopian footwear factories produce men’s casual shoes and children’s shoe-uppers made from pure leather. Additionally, the factories: • Sell directly to overseas importers/ wholesalers, or to direct buying offices

• Facilitate the production and export of footwear under the private labels of department stores, boutiques, shoe retail chains and mail-order houses; • Source out from Ethiopia and other nations in East Africa and re-export • Facilitate the production and export of internationally wellknown brands under contract

The Ethiopian footwear industry produces shoes that are globally competitive in terms of both quality and price. Due focus is given to maintaining the quality of the hides and skins, leather and leather products for export. Ethiopia has sustained to be the leader in its livestock resources in Africa which proves the availability of a huge potential for the country’s leather industry.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Sheep and goat skin represent the bulk of Ethiopian leather production. The country is known in the international leather market for its superior qualities of sheep skin, acknowledged as being the best in the world. The Ethiopian sheep skins are sought for high class and high value glove leather and the goat skin are equally acknowledged to be the finest for suede making for garments and footwear. The international leather market has coined special names for these two varieties of skin after two local places - Selallie and Bati. The sheep skins are referred to as Selallie Genuine and the goat skin Bati Genuine which are offered at premium prices over all others. The sheepskin in particular has a reputation for its fiber strength and other qualities attractive to the international market which is best suitable for dress gloving and shoe upper. Bati Genuine are mainly used for shoe upper and leather goods. Cow hides are mainly used for shoe uppers. Ethiopian leather products have been exported to markets in Europe (especially Italy and the UK), America, Canada, China, Japan, India and other Far Eastern countries and the Middle East. Leather is also exported to other African countries including Nigeria and Uganda. The government of Ethiopia also considered the leather industry a priority sector for growth. Like in other priority sector all form of investment and export incentives are applicable to the leather and leather product industry. 22

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The export performance till now is found to be low due to limited managerial capacity in the sub-sector to compete in the global market, lack of application of better technology, absence of product diversification, confined market destination. Despite its long pedigree, the leather products industry in Ethiopia has been struggling with limited processing capacity that explains not just the inability of local leather goods producers to penetrate the export market, but also their failure to withstand competition from imports. Currently, the government is processing all the preliminary activities to construct Leather City at Modjo. Ethiopia has a potentiality to invest more and expand in leather industry which substantially is because of raw hide and skin exports. The trade of manufacture and export of leather footwear, leather goods and leather garments is one of the promising sectors for the economic and social growth of Ethiopia through foreign direct investment (FDI) or through Joint venture.

Ethiopian leather Sol Image Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Banquet Hall – 24

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GLOBAL FDI FLOWS FLAT IN 2019 MODERATE INCREASE EXPECTED IN 2020 By Staff Writer Global foreign direct investment (FDI) remained flat in 2019, at $1.39 trillion, a 1% decline from a revised $1.41 trillion in 2018. This is against the backdrop of weaker macroeconomic performance and policy uncertainty for investors, including trade tensions. • The underlying FDI trend, which removes the volatility caused by one-off transactions and intra-firm financial flows, was up 5% (in line with projections in the World Investment Report 2019) – a marginal change representing a continuation of the stagnation observed over the decade. • FDI flows to developed countries remained at a historically low level, decreasing by a further 6% to an estimated $643 billion. FDI to the European Union (EU) fell by 15% to $305 billion, while flows to the United States remained stable at $251 billion. Flows to developing economies remained unchanged at an estimated $695 billion. FDI increased by 16% in Latin America and the Caribbean and 3% in Africa. Despite a decline of 6%, flows to developing Asia continued to account for one-third of global FDI in 2019. Flows to transition economies rose by two thirds to $57 billion. • Trends in selected economies: ° FDI in the United Kingdom down 6% as Brexit unfolds. ° Hong Kong, China divestments cause a 48% FDI decline among turbulence. ° Singapore up 42% in a buoyant ASEAN region. ° Zero-growth of flows to both the United States and China. ° Brazil up 26% at the start of a privatization programme. ° German inflows triple as MNEs extend loans to foreign affiliates in a year of slow growth. • Looking ahead, UNCTAD expects FDI flows to rise marginally in 2020 on the back of further modest growth of the world economy. Corporate profits are expected to remain high and signs of waning trade tensions emerge. However, the decrease of announced greenfield projects by 22% – an indicator of future trends, high geopolitical risks and concerns about a further shift towards protectionist policies temper expectations. 26

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Global FDI flows1 remained flat in 2019, at an estimated $1.39 trillion, down 1% from a revised $1.41 trillion in 2018. Flows declined in Europe and developing Asia, remained unchanged in North America and increased in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and transition economies (figure 2). The impact of the 2017 US tax reform which reduced US outward FDI flows and global FDI in 2018 appear to have diminished in 2019. Developing economies continue to absorb more than half of global FDI flows and half of the top 10 largest recipients of FDI fall in this category (figure 3). The United States remained the largest recipient of FDI, attracting $251 billion in inflows, followed by China with flows of $140 billion and Singapore with $110 billion.

FDI to the European Union(EU) fell by 15% to $305 billion

Significant variations

among developed FDI flows to developed economies fell by 6% to an estimated $643 billion from their revised $683 billion in 2018. FDI remained at a historically low-level, at half of their peak in 2007. Equity investment flows exhibit sluggishness. Cross-border M&As targeting the region registered a sharp decrease in value (40% to $411 billion). The falling value of announced greenfield projects (-12% to $329 billion) also points to weakness in (planned) capital expenditures of affiliates of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in these markets.

The trend for developed economies was conditioned by FDI dynamics in the European Union, where inflows declined by 15% to an estimated $305 billion. During 2019, a number of EU countries experienced strong volatility in FDI flows compared to the previous year. FDI to the Netherlands fell by 98% (from $114 billion to $1.9 billion), in part due to a large divestment (a $36 billion IPO of a foreign affiliate of Nasper (South Africa)). In contrast, flows to Ireland rose to $37 billion from -$28 billion in 2018, mainly due to the largest cross-border deal recorded in 2019 (Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd of Japan acquired the share capital of Shire PLC for $61 billion). Flows to the United Kingdom declined by 6% to an estimated $61 billion, mainly due to a lack of large deals targeting the country. The value of cross-border M&As halved in 2019 from the high level of 2018. Inflows to Spain declined from $45 billion to $6 billion, partly due to debt restructuring in foreign affiliates. In contrast, FDI flows to France and Germany rose to $52 billion and $40 billion respectively, from $37 billion and $12 billion in 2018, mainly due to an increase in intra-company loans to foreign affiliates

economies

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FDI flows to North America remained flat at $298 billion. Flows to the United States decreased by only 1% to an estimated $251 billion. While investment in the United States from Canada and the EU declined by 24% and 6% respectively, there was increase of investment from Japan and Australia. Germany, Japan and the Netherlands were the largest investors in the United States. In Canada, flows increased by 8% to $47 billion mainly due to intra-company loans. FDI flows to other developed countries fell by 30% to $70 billion. The decline of cross-border M&A sales in Australia contributed to the decrease of FDI inflows by 42% to $39 billion. Flows to Israel declined also, by 28% to an estimated $15 billion, while FDI to Japan rose moderately by 9% to $11 billion. Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

FDI flows to developing economies remained stable

UNCTAD

FDI flows to developing economies remained stable at an estimated $695 billion. Latin America and the Caribbean saw an increase of 16%, with growth concentrated in South America. Africa continued to register a modest rise (+3%) while flows to developing Asia fell by 6%. FDI flows into developing Asia reached an estimated $473 billion in 2019. The overall decline was driven mostly by a 21% drop in investment in East Asia. Investment to Hong Kong, China almost halved to $55 billion as divestments continued through the year. Flows to the Republic of Korea also saw a decline of 46% to $7.8 billion, attributed to trade tensions and investment policy changes. Inflows to China remained stable at $140 billion. South-East Asia continued to be the region’s growth engine; FDI rose to an estimated $177 billion, a 19% increase from 2018. Singapore, the biggest FDI host country in the region, continued to grow in 2019 – by 42% to $110 billion, driven by deals in the information and communication sector. Investments into Indonesia rose 12% to $24 billion with significant flows going into wholesale and retail trade (including the digital economy) and manufacturing. 28

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South Asia recorded a 10% increase in FDI to $60 billion. The growth was driven by India, with a 16% increase in inflows to an estimated $49 billion. The majority went into services industries, including information technology. Inflows into Bangladesh and Pakistan declined by 6% and 20%, respectively, to $3.4 billion and $1.9 billion. In West Asia, FDI flows declined by 16% to an estimated $25 billion, from $30 billion in 2018. Flows to Turkey cooled off from $13 billion in 2018 to $8.3 billion due to economic headwinds. Investment in Saudi Arabia increased by 9% to an estimated $4.6 billion with some deals outside the oil and gas sector. For example, the largest M&A deal in the country was in metals, with Tronox Ltd (United States) acquiring part of National Titanium (Saudi Arabia) for $2.2 billion.

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FDI to Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 16% in 2019, reaching an estimated $170 billion. In South America, flows grew by 20% to an estimated $119 billion, with decreases in Argentina and Ecuador offset by growing flows to Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia. Brazil registered a 26% increase to $75 billion, partly driven by the country’s privatization program launched in July as part of the administration’s efforts to jumpstart the economy. The first of these privatizations involved a gas distribution company Transportadora Associada de Gas bought by a consortium of investors led by Engie (France) for almost $8.7 billion. In 2020, divestments of subsidiaries of State companies are expected to gain pace; the privatization of large companies like Electrobras, Latin America’s largest power utility, and Telebras is likely to attract further FDI. Preliminary data

on announced greenfield investments in the country support this outlook with the value of projects more than doubling compared to 2018, especially in the renewable energy and the automotive industries. In Argentina, a deepening currency crisis and the application of restrictive measures on international operations have led to a halving of inflows (to $6.3 billion). FDI to Chile, Peru and Colombia all increased significantly, supported by economic growth above the regional average and new public investments into infrastructure and mining (Peru and Chile). Social unrest and political turmoil late in 2019 dampen expectations for inflows in 2020. Flows to Central America grew by 4% to an estimated $46 billion. FDI to Mexico increased by 3% to an estimated $35 billion; the new trade agreement USMCA lifted expectations for easier economic relations. Flows to Panama and Costa Rica, the two other main destinations in the region, grew to $6.5 and $2.3 billion respectively. In Panama, most of the increase can be attributed to increased intra-company loans. In Costa Rica more than half of flows went into the free trade zones.

FDI flows to developing economies remained stable at an estimated

$695 billion

In the Caribbean (excluding offshore financial centres), inflows grew by 49% to an estimated $4.2 billion led by growing investments in the Dominican Republic where FDI reached an estimated $2.7 billion and in Trinidad and Tobago where inflows turned positive to an estimated $600 million. FDI flows to Africa amounted to an estimated $49 billion – an increase of 3%. Persistent global economic uncertainty and the slow pace of reforms seeking to address structural productivity bottlenecks in many economies continue to hamper investment

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in the continent. Egypt remained the largest FDI recipient in Africa with a 5% increase in inflows to $8.5 billion. The country’s efforts to implement economic reforms have resulted in strengthened investor confidence. While FDI to the country was still driven by the oil and gas sector, major investments in the non-oil economy emerged, notably in telecommunications, real estate and tourism. Despite the increase in Egypt, FDI to North Africa declined by 11% to $14 billion, due to a significant (45%) slowdown in flows to Morocco ($2 billion from $3.6 billion in 2018). In contrast, FDI to Southern Africa increased by 37% to $5.5 billion mainly due to the slowdown in net divestment from Angola. South Africa consolidated last year’s recovery with inflows remaining almost constant at a little more than $5 billion. In addition to intra-company transfers by existing investors, investment to the country was led by M&A deals in business services and petroleum refining. FDI flows to East Africa remained steady totaling $8.8 billion. Flows to Ethiopia, Africa’s fastest growing economy, slowed down by a quarter to $2.5 billion. China was the largest investor in Ethiopia in 2019, accounting for 60% of newly approved FDI projects. Inflows to Uganda increased by almost 50% to $2 billion due to the continuation of the development of major oil fields and an international oil pipeline. Flows to West Africa increased by 17% to an estimated $11 billion as investment surged in Nigeria by 71% to $3.4 billion. FDI to the continent’s largest economy was buoyed by resource seeking inflows in the oil and gas sector. However, the development of a $600 million steel plant in Nigeria’s Kaduna state offers some evidence of investment diversification, a long-standing policy objective. FDI to Central Africa rose by 6% to $9.3 billion, with the resourceoriented profile of investment persisting. 30

China was the largest investor in Ethiopia in 2019, accounting for 60% of newly approved FDI projects.

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After two years of low inflows, FDI to the transition economies started a rebound in 2019, growing by 65%, to an estimated $57 billion. The pick-up was driven partly by an expectation of higher economic growth in the region in 2020 and more stable prices for natural resources. In the Russian Federation, inflows more than doubled to $33 billion. Both equity investment and reinvested earnings rose substantially as investors’ confidence increased. As a result of the doubling of FDI into the Russian Federation, the inflows of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Georgia reached $49 billion, 82% up from 2018. Flows to SouthEast Europe remained unchanged at $7.4 billion. Flows to Serbia grew by 6%, to $4.4 billion. In contrast with buoyant FDI inflows, the cross-border M&A sales of transition economies fell by 46%, to $1.4 billion only, their lowest level since 2015. FDI prospects for transition economies in 2020 remain subdued, as suggested by the decline in the value of announced greenfield projects in 2019 which dropped by 14%, to $44 billion. In addition, uncertainties remain high in terms of the policy environment for FDI in various key economies of the region, including the Russian Federation.

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Cross-border almost halved

M&As

Cross-border M&As decreased by 40% in 2019 to $490 billion – the lowest level since 2014 (figure 4). Slowed down by sluggish Eurozone growth and Brexit, European M&A sales halved to $190 billion. Deals targeting United States companies remained significant – accounting for 31% of total M&As. The fall in global cross-border M&As sales was deepest in the services sector (-56% to $207 billion), followed by manufacturing (-19%, to $249 billion) and primary sector (-14%, to $34 billion). In particular, sales of assets related to financial and insurance activities and chemicals fell sharply. The decline in M&A values was driven also by a lower number of megadeals. In 2019, there were 30 megadeals above $5 billion compared to 39 in 2018. The decline of cross-border M&As in 2019 (-40%) was much stronger than the 14% decrease in total M&A activity (including domestic deals) worldwide, continuing the trend of the last few years of relative impopularity of cross-border expansions and consolidations through deals.

Looking ahead: growth with significant risks FDI flows are still expected to rise moderately in 2020, as current projections show the global economy to improve somewhat from its weakest performance since the global financial crisis in 2009. GDP growth, gross fixed capital formation and trade are projected to rise, both at the global level and, especially, in several large emerging markets. Such an improvement in macroeconomic conditions could prompt MNEs to resume investments in productive assets, given also their easy access to cheap money, the fact that corporate profits are expected to remain solid in 2020, and hopes for waning trade tensions between the United States and China. However, significant risks persist, including high debt accumulation among emerging and developing economies, geopolitical risks and concerns about a further shift towards protectionist policies. In addition, in 2019, greenfield project announcements an indicator of future trends have slowed down. source UNCTAD Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Logistics challenges

Leone, Eritrea and Zimbabwe were at the bottom 4.

facing eCommerce

In most African countries, the result of the poor road infrastructure is heavy traffic jams that lead to delayed deliveries, canceled orders for the ondemand services and subsequently loss of revenue. Alternative modes of transport have therefore come into play in some markets like Kenya and Nigeria, with the use of easy to navigate motorcycles, popularly known as Bodabodas. With about 1.2 million motorcycles in the passenger transport business, Kenyan ecommerce companies have strived to tap into this market by using Bodabodas to swiftly deliver products especially within busy cities.

in Africa By Josephine Wawira According to Euromonitor, the world’s fastest growing economies by 2030 will be in Africa. This consequently makes the continent the next big e-commerce market. And as this positive narrative continues to place Africa as a top investment destination, the need for advanced logistics systems has become inevitable. The growth of e-commerce will significantly depend on the quality and efficiency of logistics networks; from intra and cross trade to financial transactions in payment of goods and services. When writing the African e-commerce story, I often leap at the chance to explore only the enviable milestones the continent has made. Nevertheless, there still exist formidable challenges especially in logistics, a vital constituent of the industry. The African Development Bank, in its 2019 African Economic Outlook, notes that “trade costs due to poorly functioning logistics markets may be a greater barrier to trade than tariffs and nontariff barriers”. This side of the story must also be told; if we are to find sustainable solutions to what could be the gateway to growing Africa’s e-commerce by leaps and bounds. 32

Unsatisfactory National Address Systems and Transport Infrastructure One of the biggest logistics’ hurdles holding back the industry is the lack of proper national address systems in most African countries. This, coupled by poor road networks, make it even harder to conveniently deliver products to customers. Consequently, companies have had to rely on fairly descriptive addresses and landmarks provided by the customers during the initial stages of the online purchase process. The delivery persons are also required to keep in constant contact with clients when delivering products, to receive further directions while en-route. While generally Africa’s infrastructure lags behind that of its counterparts including America and Europe, it is worth of note that each country has its own value proposition. In 2018, the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index placed South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, and Côte d’Ivoire as the top 4 best performing countries in Africa, while Somalia, Sierra

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“There are huge opportunities for logistics to grow e-commerce, but few established players exist in the market,” notes Apoorva Kumar, Jumia’s SVP of Logistics. Present in 14 African countries,Jumia is one of the ecommerce players building logistics and fulfilment infrastructures to ease delivery of products to consumers using both vehicles and bodabodas. Providentially, technology has been a boon to the logistics industry. In Nigeria and Kenya, Jumia is running a well-established system using Machine Learning, relying on GPS enabled delivery apps. The coordinates collected in the first delivery are then registered and used in making a logistics network for future conveyance. In Rwanda, companies like Zipline are leading the way in commercial

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drone deliveries. While initially focused on delivering blood to remote health centers that are otherwise difficult to reach fast due to Rwanda’s hilly terrain; it is expected that Zipline’s drones will in future be used in other sectors including e-commerce. Back in Kenya, Astral Aerial Solutions is using drones for among other services, last mile deliveries. The company aims to, in its words, “open up Kenya’s hard to reach regions to new and exciting business opportunities”. The possibilities for a better future in logistics, in my view, are endless! And as Apoorva reiterates, companies cannot solely build a successful logistics system. “It requires integrating various systems and partners to create a big enough network to serve the growing needs of the e-commerce consumers,” he says, calling for both private and public partnerships to this endeavor.

What Then, Does the Future Hold? Data by logistics consulting firm Knight Frank, shows that the cost of transportation represents 50% to 75% of the retail price of the goods. This alone, underpins the demand for long-term strategies to the logistics challenges in Africa. From delayed deliveries between local destinations to sluggish growth of cross-border trade, the effects are being felt across the board. Modern online retailing is headed towards pre-orders, requiring mature infrastructure for both small and medium businesses. This will help meet the packaging, storage, distribution, freight and last-miledelivery requirements. Though challenging, Africa is a land full of commercial opportunities; causing a scramble for a piece

of the pie among international investors. Therefore, for e-commerce companies in Africa to achieve sustainable bottom-line growth, there needs to occur more techempowered handshakes between multiple service providers across markets. Governments have the responsibility to create onewindow-policies that empower digital payment solutions as well as logistics infrastructure including road networks, air cargo handling systems and warehouses among others. Similarly, e-commerce and logistics powerhouses like Jumia should commit to empower more upcoming entrepreneurs. They must also use their leading positions to continue paving the way for economic integration in Africa.

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Importance of innovation and

digitalization in growing tourism By Josephine Wawira

Digital transformation has solemnly grasped the tourism industry, increasinglyaltering operations and customer relations in a sector that contributed 3.7% to Kenya’s GDP in 2017 and forecast to rise by 5.2% in 2018. The industry is experiencing a great deal of innovative disruption, with trends such as Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and mobile bookings and payments taking center stage. Expectations from tourists have been set high, and relevant stakeholders continue to adopt to the technological changes in a bid to provide pertinent solutions suitable for the new digital environment. In a statement released by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), ithas stressed the importance of tourism and technology, providing opportunities for innovation and creating the jobs of the future. Speaking during the 63rd European Commission meeting held in Prague-Czech Republic earlier in June this year, Secretary-General ZurabPololikashvili affirmed the organization’s aim to make innovation part of the solution to the challenge of marrying continued growth with a more sustainable and responsible tourism sector. 34

“Together we can set a vision that considers tourism as a policy priority, a knowledge creator and innovator, and a sector of maximum value for all” “Together we can set a vision that considers tourism as a policy priority, a knowledge creator and innovator, and a sector of maximum value for all”, said Mr. Pololikashvili, making clear his vision to create an ecosystem of government policies, funds and strategic projects that nurture disruptive ideas and entrepreneurship. What is the traveler looking for? In a world of digital interaction, today’s traveler has shifted focus on the sources of travel and tourism data and information, highly dependent on mobile applications and the digitalspace for their travel purchases. From flight to hotel bookings, the services are easily accessible online, making it convenient and user friendly. Service

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providers,in a bid to drive sales, revenue and operational efficiency,are upping their efforts to give top-notch customer experience by embracing the digital transformation. For instance, Amadeus, a travel software and technology solutions provider, notes that service providers should expect thetraveler to leverage more on mobile, such as location awareness and directly rebooking on the device. He wants to remain connected in the digital, mobile, and vi rtualmarketplace;thus,expect sseamless integration across standalone apps such as those that encourage social login. Case Studies Therefore, the main question is whether hotels and travel

“mobile-first”

Image by Buydeephoto agents have been able to deliver on these significant traveler demands and what benefits they have recorded. Speed, relevance, and accuracy of the digital experience are vital when a hotel is seeking to grow conversion rates. The AccorHotels Appfor instance, allows customers to experience a total immersion with virtual realityusing their smartphones.Besides,it provides over 2,000 tourism destinations and 4,200 addresses toaffirm the importance of the location awareness application. Other useful features include exclusive presales and room upgrades to reward customer loyalty. On the other hand, travel agents have not been left behind in relation to

innovation and digitalization. Such is Jumia Travel, a leading OTA in Africa which uses an Extranet Appboth on Android and Web; in its strategy to usetop-notch technology to further empower its hotel partners across all markets. The tool allows hotel managers to confirm and view their incoming reservations, change their rates and update availability at their own comfort.By integrating multiple channel managers, the company gives its customers and hotels control over their bookings, reducing thestandard check-in timeand consequently increasing efficiency and cost savings in an industry ecosystemthat is highly characterized by a “mobile-first” adaptation.

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Ethiopian Stirring E-commerce Growth in Ethiopia ET Corporate Communications The advent of digital technology coupled with the boom in commerce within national boundaries and globally has ushered in the era of e-commerce, empowering individual consumers to transact at their fingertips. Though digital transaction brings immense benefits to both businesses and consumers in terms of accessibility, ease and efficiency, it cannot be realized without mature internet connection, open financial systems, digitally literate society and availability of web-shops. Hurdles on the Way Almost all the ingredients necessary for a thriving e-commerce were missing in Ethiopia’s technological landscape few years back presenting a daunting challenge to businesses which sought to engage in e-commerce. Banks were not open for digital transaction and lacked systems which accommodate e-commerce. Digital transaction did not take root in the country as it was not a culture. On top of that, companies didn’t provide web shops tailored to local customers with local payment options and languages. 36

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Airlines All these challenges meant that e-commerce had very little foothold in Ethiopia and forward looking companies such as Ethiopian Airlines were having a hard time venturing into digital transaction. In 2017, only four percent of passengers in Ethiopia transacted digitally to book air tickets, pay and check in online. Members of the diasporas and expats working in Ethiopia were the main users of Ethiopian’s digital offering.

the airline’s services available online

24/7.

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Facing the Challenge Head On Ethiopian Airlines has taken different measures to address the challenges that kept its digital offerings from gaining wider acceptance and usage by passengers in Ethiopia. In spite of the seemingly daunting hurdles, there were opportunities for Ethiopian Airlines to significantly boost e-commerce usage by leveraging technology to standardize and enhance services. Travel from and within Ethiopia was growing and there was an opportunity for wider acceptance of innovative platform that makes the airline’s services available online 24/7. Approaching banks to open up their systems and embrace digital transaction was one of the measures we took to address the challenge in Ethiopia’s e-commerce industry. We gave banks the opportunity to come up with systems which are good enough to interact with e-commerce websites. There was a significant appetite from the banks’ side to open up their systems and venture into e-commerce as they too saw benefits in store for them in terms of cost reduction and efficiencies. It took most of the banks a couple of months to develop e-commerce enabled systems. We have also created a web shop which enabled customers to book, pay for and secure their tickets using devices at their fingertips. As awareness and confidence is a prerequisite to the acceptance of new products, we have launched an aggressive integrated marketing 38

campaign dubbed “Go Digital”. Using multiple channels, we sent consistent messages about the benefits of digitally transacting with Ethiopian in terms of avoiding long queues at ticket offices and call centers. The campaign included publicity through radio, TV, print and social media; sales promotions through incentives such as discounts, mileages, free tickets and upgrades; advertising on TVs, radios, newspapers, etc; direct marketing to customers through emails and SMS enticing them to download Ethiopian mobile app; and personal selling by deploying staff at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and ticket offices to demonstrate how the app is used. A dedicated 24/7 structure was also put in place to enable customers to access our digital service whenever they wanted. Staff also monitored the usage and provided support to customers through calls, social media and email during and after customers’ experience with our digital offering. The other measure we took was building new digital marketing capabilities to capacitate our staff to run the system professionally and lay the ground for successful e-commerce endeavors. We have provided our staff with training on search engine optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, etc as part of the capacity building initiative. Building such digital skill set also boosted our capacity in terms of mobile development, cloud development, automated testing, etc.

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Results Achieved The net result of all those efforts was tremendous! The four percent digital usage in Ethiopia by the end of 2017 leapt to 40 percent in two years’ time. Currently, there are over 350,000 online customers in Ethiopia and revenue of 2.8 billion ETB has been garnered through digital sales. The feature of our mobile app has also seen significant improvement since its launch to meet the evolving needs of local customers. The app also offers 11 local payment options in Ethiopia and is accessible in Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna for local users. It has also been enhanced to allow authorized

receipt generation. With the increase in product awareness among local customers, the user base is also increasing from time to time. What Next? Going forward, we plan to expand Ethiopian Chabot across social media messaging platforms such as Telegram, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc. These platforms are enjoying exponentially growing customer base in Ethiopia, and making the Chabot available on those platforms will help us attract more customers to our digital offerings. Adapting those platforms for the travel experience and enabling passengers to book, receive tickets and checkin through those platforms will be an

area we will continue to work on in the future. We have already tested this at Addis Ababa Airport among domestic users, and got tremendous acceptance and transaction growth. Currently, 30 percent of domestic passengers check in through social media messaging platforms. We also plan to introduce guided speech conversation into the Chabot which currently converses in text only. Likewise, we will add more local features on our mobile app including an airport map which will better guide passengers through Addis Ababa Bole International Airport which has

seen massive expansion recently. We would also like to serve as digital retail service providers integrating more offerings such as hotel, tour package and WiFi service on our mobile app and better serve domestic tourists. Better utilization of internet of things (IOT) technologies and aggressive awareness creation and marketing are also among the initiatives we have in the pipeline. As building digital skill set is one of the key areas in our digitization initiative, we will keep building our in-house capability and be in a better position to develop products and service keeping pace with emerging technologies.

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A complete guide to Ethiopia’s Wilderness Some of the parks contain rivers and mountains where you can climb and up closely see hippos, pelicans, thousands of birds and butterflies. The mountains also has hot springs, savannah and caves where you can safely explore inside and watch the wildlife from the top of the high rise mountains. The parks found at dense forests usually require a guide so that travellers have a safe travel protected from the wildlife. Although the wildlife going through their daily routine with their yapping conversations gives you a glimpse of where they are it’s good to take precaution for safety and pick a great guide at the entrance of the parks to have a best view of the wildlifes Jumia Travel experts say. Do not be intimidated to go deep into the wilderness and wonder at the park the guides are experienced enough to keep you safe even during unexpected incidents. The park has waterfalls and natural spring waters where you can soak and dip into the natural clear waters. Whether you prefer to cool off in the waterfalls or you want to relax at the warmest natural hot springs or you just want to watch the wildlife’s, be prepared to have the best time of your life and an unforgettable adventure at any park you pick in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has several stunning national parks that will take you into deep amusement. The parks mix a variety of stunning landscapes and wildlife creating the ultimate rewarding travel experience. There are plenty of breath-taking sights all around the parks. If you are visiting during the peak seasons in September where the flowers bloom and the scenic falls to its fullest ever green, you will be able to witness the paradise nature of the parks. It’s an amazing experience to find yourself below the powerful gushing and noisy waterfalls. A trip to Ethiopia’s National Parks is nothing like you experience in zoos, rather it’s a trip which takes you into an incredible journey to the wildlife in its natural habitat. It’s a full scale destination filled with an inspiring wildlife adventure. Spotting wild animals and refreshing view of the green jungles are common adventures of the parks. Few of these great parks are found at Ethiopia’s signature mountains including at Ras Dashen, which, at 4,620 meters, is the third highest mountain in Africa.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

uba forest the ultimate pick nick and wildlife view If nature with longest green trees and wildlife view is your thing, then exploring the Menagesha Suba forest ancient parks are your perfect bet. Suba forest is one of the best places to be immersed in Ethiopia’s greener dense forests that lasted for over five centuries being the oldest forest in Africa. Located just 40 kilometres away from the capital city Addis Ababa it’s found lying in 2500 hectares of massive glamorous landscape. Suba is not only a place of trekking and wildlife view but also a place of an absolute refreshment and adventure Jumia Travel observed. Suba forest established in 1434 during the time of emperor Zera Yacobe. Legend has it that the forest was erected for the royal family and the king of the time. The rewarding trek takes over five hours for fast walkers to make it to the top at mount Wuchacha and Damocha where you can see the entire forests and the capital city on the far. Deck your tent and camp at the refreshing fresh air from the forests and the magnificent nature. The forest trail is also the best place to closely view the wildlife including the endemic Menelik’s bushbuck, anubis baboon, Rougets’ rail, blue-winged goose black-headed siskin, colobus monkey, bush pig, warthog, leopard, cats and birds. The natural habitat of the place has been protected since the 15th century. It’s an exceptional family and romantic adventurous place accompanied with walking under over five centuries gardens spotting several birds and wildlife’s who are friendly and harmless. The stunning forest is full of life. No doubt the forest and the wildlife are the major draw at Suba Park but the traditional villagers are another attractions to the place. They based their life on the forest cultivating and leaving with the friendly abundant wildlife. Ethiopian oriole, yellow-fronted parrot, black-winged lovebird, banded barbet, Abyssinian woodpecker and Abyssinian catbird are few of the wildlife’s who walk by the forest adding a fabulous flavour to the over 500 years old forests and craters. Have your meals out in the fresh breath of the 50 meter long forests. Look for the Abyssinian Black-headed Forest Oriole, Abyssinian Slaty flycatcher, Banded Barbet, Black-winged Lovebird, Thick-billed Raven, Wattled Ibis, White-backed Black Tit and white-collared Pigeon among the best wildlife to see. Exploring the massive forest and the park safely is very easy just follow the five trails reading from the information’s that will be handed out at the entrance will also allow you which trail to follow to view the wildlife and the forest at the best spot. You can camp and enjoy the wildlife closer when they come looking to pick their food. Try the traditional guest houses inside the park that will allow you to enjoy the nature and the sights of the surrounding just do not forget to lock your doors as the monkeys and rabbits will come to take your foods from inside but if you love adventure hide and watch them while they strategically take some of your food, it is an exciting experience by itself. It’s a must to pack ample foods and waters as the park does not provide such a service however foods and waters can be found at the nearby restaurants and shops.

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

ን

ጌጡ ተመስገን ( የጉዞ ማስታወሻ )

ምንጭ (በቅርቡ ለህትመት ከሚበቃ የተወዳጁ ጋዜጠኛ ጌጡ ተመስገን የጉዞ ማስታወሻ መጽሐፍ የተወሰደ)

የአበቅየለሽን ጠጅ፤ በቡርቧክሶች ዜማ አይቆረጠምም ደረቁ ባቄላ፣ ጎንደር ከተማ ከመድረሳችን በፊት በማክሰኚትና በጠዳ መካከል እናገኛታለን፡፡ በመሰንቆ ጨዋታ የገነነችዋን መንደር፤ ቡርቧክስ እግር ጥሏችሁ ከመንደሯ ቤቶች ወደ አንደኛው ድንገት ጐራ ብትሉ ከሁለት እስከ አምስት የሚደርሱ መሰንቆዎችን የቤቱ ምሰሶ ላይ በክብር ተሰቅለው ታገኛላችሁ፡፡ የእማሆይ አበቅየለሽ ጥንታዊ ጠጅ ቤት የሚገኘው ጎንደር፤ ከፋሲል ግንብ ዋና መግቢያ በር ደቡብ ምዕራብ አቅጣጫ፣ ከዣን ተከል ዋርካ ወረድ ብሎ ነው፡፡ መኳንንቱና መሣፍንቱ - በአንገተ ረዥሙ የመጀን ብርሌ ‹አስናቀ› የሚባል ጠጅ (ዘመናዊውን ውስኪ ያስንቃል ለማለት ነው) ያንደቀደቁበት፤ የቡርቧክስ የመሰንቆ ጨዋታ የኮመኮሙበት ታሪካዊ ጠጅ ቤት ነው - እማሆይ አበቅየለሽ ጠጅ ቤት፡፡ አበቅየለሽ ይመር፤ በ1912 ዓ.ም. በጭልጋ ወረዳ ልዩ ስሙ ባርደምባ በሚባል ቀበሌ ከደብረ ምህረት እያሆ ቅድስት ማርያም ገዳም ተወለዱ፡፡ በ1934 ዓ.ም. ጎንደር ከተማ ገቡ ፡፡ የጀመሩት የጥሩ ማር ጠጅ ጣይነት የንግድ ሥራ ከፍተኛ እውቅና አስገኝቶላቸዋል ፡፡ ከጎንደር ጥንታዊና ታሪካዊ ከተማ ነዋሪዎች ዘንድ አልፈው በሌሎች የኢትዮጵያ ከተሞች ስማቸውና ዝናቸው ናኘ፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ የኪነት ባለሙያዎችም ዘንድ ‹‹ጎንደር አበቅየለሽ›› እየተባለ ሲገጠምላቸውና ሲነገርላቸው ኖረዋል::

42 Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

አበቅየለሽ ጐንደር ፋርጣ የኔ ገላ፤ *** እመቴ አበቅየለሽ፣ (ከጠጁ፣ ከጮማው) አታመጪው የለሽ!

*** አንድ ዕለት በለስ ቀንቶት እማሆይ አበቅየለሽ ጠጅ ቤት ተገኘሁ፡፡ እሳቸው የሉም፡፡ በ78 ዓመታቸው ነው ይህቺን ዓለም የተሰናበቷት፡፡ ትዝታቸውን ግን ጥለው አልፈዋል፡፡ ወደ ጠጅ ቤቱ ስትዘልቁ እርሳቸው በህይወት ሳሉ የሚቀመጡባት ቀይ ሶፋ፣ ከወንበሩ አጠገብ መቋሚያቸው፣ ከመቋሚያው አናት ላይ የእማሆይ አበቅየለሽ ይመር ባለ ጥቁርና ነጭ ፎቶግራፍ በክብር ተሰቅሎ ይጠብቃችኋል፡፡ በእድሜ የገፉ አዛውንቶች ወደ ጠጅ ቤቱ ሲዘልቁ ለአፍታ ቆመው፣ ባርኔጣቸውን አውልቀው ለቀይ ወንበሯ እጅ ይነሳሉ፡፡ ወንበሯ ላይ ማንም ሰው አይቀመጥም፡ ፡ አግራሞት ያጫረብኝ ደግሞ ጠጅ ጠግበው የሚወጡ እንግዶች ሁሉ የእማሆይ አበቅየለሽ ይመርን ‹ወንበር› በክብር ተሰናብተው መውጣትን ፈጽሞ አለመዘንጋታቸው ነበር፡፡

*** ቀን አልታይ ብለሽ በሌት እደክማለሁ፣ የማገኝሽ መስሎኝ አፈር አሸታለሁ፡፡ … *** ሆዴ ጭሶ ጭሶ የነደደ እንደሆን፣ ያመዱ መፍሰሻ ሥፍራው ወዴት ይሆን?! *** ብጨርሰው ኖሮ ቅኔውን ተምሬ፣ ከዘረፉት እኩል እሆን ነበር ዛሬ፡፡ *** ዳኛውም ዝንጀሮ መፋረጃው ገደል፣ ከየት ላይ ተቁሞ ይነገራል በደል፡፡ … እያጨበጨብን ገና ሳይናገር፣ ጠገብን እያልን ገና ሳይጋገር፣ አጨብጭቡ ሲሉን እያጨበጨብን፣ ነጋላቸው አሉን እኛ ጨልሞብን፡፡ *** ቢገፉን ቢገፉን ደረስነ ከገደል፣ ከ’ንግዲህስ ወዲያ ዙረን እንጋደል?! *** ወንድሙን እየገፋ አድርሶ ከገደል፣ ለእምነቴ ቀናሁ ከበደልም በደል፣ ፈጣሪን መካድ ነው እንደገና መስቀል፤ *** ባይወጉን ባይወጉን አይደለም፣ በነጭ ያልተገዛን፣ ተቸግረው እንጂ፣ ስንሞት እየበዛን፡፡ *** ለቀይ ወንበሯ፤ ለእማሆይ አበቅየለሽ … ለክብራቸው እጅ ነሳሁ፡፡ እናንተም እጅ ንሡ! ሥም ከመቃብር በላይ ነው፡፡

በእድሜ የገፉ አዛውንቶች ወደ ጠጅ ቤቱ ሲዘልቁ ለአፍታ ቆመው፣ ባርኔጣቸውን አውልቀው ለቀይ ወንበሯ እጅ ይነሳሉ፡፡ ወንበሯ ላይ ማንም ሰው አይቀመጥም፡፡ አግራሞት ያጫረብኝ ደግሞ ጠጅ ጠግበው የሚወጡ እንግዶች ሁሉ የእማሆይ አበቅየለሽ ይመርን ‹ወንበር› በክብር ተሰናብተው መውጣትን ፈጽሞ አለመዘንጋታቸው ነበር፡፡

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

ABN 10 Questions

By Aklile Tsige

Mukajela’, which literally means “meeting under the tree”.

Fetihya Mohammed Model

Mukajela: “meeting under the tree”

orn and raised in the beautiful city of Dire Dawa in Eastern Ethiopia. Fetihya Mohammed was the first born followed by a sister and two brothers. Ever since she left Dire Dawa for the nation’s capital, Addis Ababa she has gone through lots of ups and downs to reach where she is now. A mother of two sons and a business woman Fetihya has significantly contributed to her country’s image building effort through her modeling and beauty pageant experience. Aklile Tsige, ABN Editor-inChief sat with Fetihya to present her ABN’s 10 questions. 44

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

ABN: Tell us a little bit about your early ages. Fetihya: I was born in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. I was the first child to my family.. My family was living a good life and the future looked bright for them. All of that changed when my father suddenly died when I was only 5 years old. Life became though, but as a family, they managed to survive and live a reasonable normal life. But disaster stroke again when my mother also became sick and passed away not much later. I was only 16 years at that time. My life as a normal teenager going to high school changed suddenly to a life were I had to fight to survive, and become the breadwinner. ABN: How did you get into the modeling industry? Fetihya: When I was a teenager, a lot of people advised me to become a model. One day I met Zemi Younes, who was the most important fashion show organizer at that time and she thought me everything I needed to know. My life would change when I became 18 and was scouted by an international modeling agent from the UK. This has created opportunities for me to participate in beauty pageants and modeling shows all over the world. I appeared on national and international TV channels and as an emerging and accomplished public figure. ABN: I think you have studied Journalism at Unity College; did you work with the profession? If yes, to which media? Fetihya: Of course, I have graduated from the then Unity College in Journalism. At that

time, I was working as a reporter for Nia Fashion Magazine. I did some freelance reporting for some newspapers as well as narration for radio programs.

to mention some continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and the USA.

ABN: Where did you experience your modeling career outside Ethiopia?

Fetihya: I lost both parents of mine at a very young age, so I always had to fight to survive. Now, I have become a strong, psychologically and financially independent woman.

Fetihya: Many places worldwide,

ABN: What are your greatest achievements in life?

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

That is what I consider my greatest achievement. When it comes to my modeling career, I have got some the following achievements over the last 15 years: 1. 2nd Runner Up in the Miss Ethiopia 2005 Election 2. 1st Runner Up as African Queen in the Miss Tourism 2005 Election in China 3. Rewarded as Miss Goodwill in the Miss International 2006 Election in Japan 4. Coordinator for the Miss Millennium event 2007 in the Millennium Hall in Ethiopia 5. Stage model for the East African Cultural Exchange 2009 in Kenya 6. Judge for Elite International Fashion Show 2011 in Kenya

“

I always had to fight to survive. Now, I have become a strong, psychologically and financially independent woman

”

46 Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

7. Stage model for fashion shows in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany for 2014-2015 8. Model for different advertisements in press and national TV in Ethiopia and Belgium 8. Has been on the front page of several magazines and newspapers including: Addis Admas, Reporter and Nation Newspapers and Fashion Magazine 9. Narrated several Radio Dramas on Ethiopia radio and acted in “Sew Lesew” drama series on ETV 10. Held several interviews with ETV, Ethiopian National radio and other media 11. Worked as a reporter for different magazines

ABN: Tell us a little bit about your participation in the film or TV series drama. What are those good performances of you? Fetihya: I played in a few Amharic radio dramas like “Yeqegn kignit” and “Menta menged”. Also there were the regular shows on Saturdays and Sundays Entertainment programs and I had some guest actress roles in “Sew Lesew” and some others. ABN: What social or community development initiatives are you engaged in? Fetihya: I have my own peace project called ‘Mukajela’, which literally means “meeting under the tree”. It is an idea of traditional conflict-solving mechanism being practiced in the Eastern part of Ethiopia. Very recently I have conducted this peace initiative in my birth place-Dire Dawa ,in the presence of famous Ethiopian vocalists such as Ali Birra and Ali Shebo who are famous for their being founders and main actors for the establishment of the old music band called “Afrenqello”. ABN: What are you currently doing? Fetihya:, I have established the Ethiopian Modeling Association in collaboration with the FDRE Ministry of Tourism. We will be working on making the industry stronger, more professional, giving opportunity for Ethiopian girls and women to get out of their confined areas and promote their country in the global arena. ABN: How did you manage to help your sister and brothers?

Fetihya: It is only through strength, determination and hard work that these blood of mine managed to climb out from the dark hole they were in. All of them are now in a good living condition as they managed to finish their secondary education and university studies. Thanks to the Almighty Allah! ABN: Would you please list down your favorite……. Fetihya: • Pass time: spending time with my kids, watch movie and social commitments. • Dish: Shiro • Drink: Lipton Ice Tea Green • Movie: Notebook • Quotation: • Book: Medemer by PM Abiy Ahmed (Phd) • Source of information: electronics media, social media • Vocalists: local and foreign

/male/female: Aster Awoke, Dr Ali Birra and Whitney Houston • Actor/actress local and foreign: Kedist G/Selassi, Liam Neeson and Angelina Jolie

Lots of Thanks

Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

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Abyssinia Business Nework የካቲት ወር 2012 February 2020

Total Ethiopia Keeps Energizing

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