The Eminence ll, June 2016

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Issue 20 - June 2016 -The Eminence

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The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

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The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

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COntents Eminence Spotlight

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10. A New Tourism Dimension; MICE: Interview with

Kumneger Teketel founder and managing director of Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group 16. MICE: Game Changer for Ethiopia’s Tourism Sector 20. Putting Ethiopia in to a MICE Map: Interview with Solomon Tadesse, CEO of Ethiopian Tourism Organzation 24. Banks looking towards MICE as Possible Growth Area 30. Addis Inaugurates First Skate Park

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Hospitality 3600

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36. The 5 Endemic wildlife of Ethiopia that are

endangered 38. Raising the game in regards to venues in Ethiopia 42. Mulling over Convention Center to Energize Meeting Industry

Cultural Panorama

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46. Supporting Regions to tap into Conference Tourism 50. AMEX working towards cashless transactions in Ethiopia 54. Conferences and Meetings Helping to Rebrand Ethiopia

Made in Ethiopia

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56. Shiro Meda: Paradise of Ethiopian Traditional Supplies 58. Taeka Negest Beata Lemariam: A hidden gem in bustling Addis

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Reflections 60. How to get a work permit in Ethiopia

Entertaiment http://www.theeminencemagazine.com/

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The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

63. Recipe and Tourist Corner 64. Classified

Asnake Amanuel ( Founder ) aamanuel@eminence-se.com

Editor’s

Dawit Kebede ( CEO ) Dkebede@eminence-se.com

Note

For a country like Ethiopia, which is rich with abundant natural and cultural heritages, tourism plays a predominant role in the economy. Additionally, tourism creates jobs and is a source of income. To benefit from tourism, it is imperative to meet the needs of tourists. This directly depends on the availability of investments as well as the development of the infrastructure within a specific country.

In addition to the natural and cultural heritages, events such as conferences, meetings, expos and trade shows are attracting more tourists to Ethiopia in recent years.

These events not only increase the number of visitors, but they also have direct and indirect impacts on the country’s economy. While the value-added contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is the direct impact; employment within the sector itself including organizers, venues and transportation service providers and others is its indirect impact.

Worldwide in the past ten years, the income generated from Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) has grown rapidly from year to year. According to research conducted by the International Conference and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2014, among the 24,000 association meetings that took place globally more than 280 billion USD was generated.

The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, in its 2012 research, states that 400 billion USD was generated from meetings and 760 billion USD from exhibitions. From this MICE market, only about 3.3 percent was shared by African countries. Eastern African countries took the largest share which was about 40 percent from Africa’s total share.

However, when it comes to Ethiopia, the country was ranked 99th in the world by ICCA in 2014. The country only hosted five meetings according to the report. South Africa led the pack of African nations by hosting 124 meetings. @EminencEthiopia

Eminence-se Entrepreneurs

Managing Editor Tsewaye Muluneh tmuluneh@eminence-se.com Editor-in- Chief Frehiwot Gebrewold fgebrewold@eminence-se.com Lideta s.c Woreda 04 H. No 175

As a matter of fact, Ethiopia started hosting international meetings and conferences in 1958 with the establishment of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). However, it is only recently that the nation has focused on conference tourism to attract more tourists, to build its image and to generate more revenues.

According to the Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau, the city held more than 10 international conferences over the past five years. More than 57,000 people came to Ethiopia for different international conferences during the 2011/12 fiscal year according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

As per the report the number grew to 73,885 in 2014/15. Since 2008 the number of conference tourists coming to the country is growing at nine percent every year.

Because of its peace and security as well as being the political capital of the continent, Ethiopia would have gained even more through MICE if it was not for the lack of facilities. Convention centers are the basics to host international events.

A convention center is a large civic building or group of buildings designed for conventions, industry shows, and the like. They have large unobstructed exhibit areas and often include conference rooms, hotel accommodations, restaurants and other amenities. The success of a center is measured by its ability to generate economic benefits for the entire community.

Currently only the Addis-Africa International Convention and Exhibition Center is in the pipeline to remove this shortcoming.

Therefore, the government needs to take more steps to attract more investors in this area. The more convenient convention centers a country has, the more benefits it can earn from the sector. Most importantly, for a country like Ethiopia, that is changing its tourism sector towards conference tourism; modern infrastructure is a necessity, not an option.

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Deputy Editor-in- Chief Fasika Tadesse ftadesse@eminence-se.com Nifas Silk Laphto s.c Woreda 12 H. No 747 Senior Editor Helina Abraham habraham@eminence-se.com Reporters Henok Solomon hsolomon@eminence-se.com Lucy Kassa lucykassa6@gmail.com Regular Contributors Brook Abdu jambong52@gmail.com Kaleab Hailu khailu@gmail.com Contributors Biruk Alemu Mahlet Sebhat Editor Samson Haileyesus samsonfikre@gmail.com Copy Editor Carolyn Curti cutyrmc@yahoo.com Graphics and Layout Design Ismael Mohammed Dawit Tolossa Website Administrator Samson Tegegn Photographer Sentayehu Bekele Sbekele@eminence-se.com Finance and Administration Tizita Paulos Distribution Tariku Tessema Editorial Address:

Tel. +251-118-678-187 Mob. +251-939-858-724 P.O Box 794 code 1110 contact@eminence-se.com/ social@eminence-se.com Web:www.theeminencemagazine.com www.eminencemagazine.com Bole s.c Namibia Street, Behind Edna Mall, Adika Bldg 5th Floor This edition is printed at Central PP Kirkos Subcity, Woreda 03 H.No 414 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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News Highlights www.stealingshare.com

www.ethiopianembassy.net

Photo By Sintayehu Bekele

A team of Japanese tourism professionals have pledged to complement efforts of promoting Ethiopia’s tourism potentials on May 23, 2016 .The Japanese team with six members including tour operators, media professionals and tour advisors visited renowned tourist sites in Ethiopia. In their stay they visit the churches of Lalibella, Gondar castle, Tana monasteries and the Axum Obelisk.

The first African Sustainable Development Forum made its discussion from May 11 to 12, 2016 in Addis Ababa at the Gullelle Botanical Garden on the overall implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by filling the gaps in the implementation of MDGs. The forum also discussed the impacts of climate change in Africa.

Ethiopia attracted 12 international hotel chain development projects that are in the pipeline for the year 2016, according to a report by World Hospitality Group. The report states that the hotel projects will have a total of 2,460 rooms which will have a significant effect on the issue of hotel room shortage, especially during high level conferences in Addis Ababa.

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addisfortune.net

Africa’s largest travel trade show was held in Durban South Africa from 7 to 9 May 2016. The trade show was visited by over 5000 delegates, buyers and exhibitors from across Africa. In his opening address, South African Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, underlined that Africa is a vibrant melting pot for tourism creating a huge opportunity for tourism led economy.

A painting exhibition by Mezgebu Tessema, a prominent contemporary artists of Ethiopia, opened May 12, 2016 at the Ethiopian National Museum. The exhibition, which is entitled “Ye Addis Ababa Lij” portrays the lifestyle of urban dwellers of Addis. Through his paintings Mezgebu depicts various ways of what it means to part of the new Addis Ababa.

The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

www.tadias.com

www.busiweek.com

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline recognized the top travel agents in Ethiopia for their contribution to the airline’s success on May 23, 2016. Next Travel Services and ABBA Travel Plc are recognized as top agents and Emirates first runner respectively. The event was held in Addis Ababa and was attended by more than 50 agents supporting Emirates from across the country.

The 2nd Annual Harlem Eat up Food Festival took place from May 19 to 22, 2016 in Harlem. The festival, which was launched last year by the Ethiopian-born chef and entrepreneur Marcus Samuelsson and veteran event marketer Herb Karlitz, allows participants to see and taste all that Harlem offers from the artists of the kitchen, the canvas, the stage and the streets.

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barcampethiopia.wordpress.com

Events June/July

10times.com/ethiopia-industrial-mnfg-expo

During the International Mining Conference, global mining industry executives, development partners, financiers, service providers and other stakeholders are expected to share experiences, build partnerships and discuss strategies, which will help to promote and unlock the full potential of Ethiopia’s minerals sector.

Event: MATEX Ethiopia Technology & Manufacturing Expo Date: June 30 – July 4, 2016 Venue: TBD

Event: Barcamp Ethiopia 2016 Date: June 17 – 18, 2016 Venue: Goethe Institute

Ethiopia Technology & Manufacturing Expo will be held from the 30th of June to the 4th of July 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This event showcases products like Industrial, Technology, Manufacturing products, machinery & After sales services etc. in the Industrial Products, Manufacturing, Fabrication, Repair & Maintenance industries.

Barcamp Ethiopia is a community oriented informal event. If you want to talk about your projects, ideas, company and or philosophy, barcamp is the right place for you.

It’s an open format that anyone can run a presentation or group discussion. Barcamp Ethiopia 2016 will take place on June 17th and 18th, 2016 at Goethe Institute.

cs.staticflickr.com

Event: Ethiopia International Mining Conference Date: June 18 – 20, 2016 Venue: Millennium Hall

www.un.org

www.africadesk.ac.uk

The National Theatre of Ethiopia in collaboration with F.I.V.E. Productions LLC. (U.S.A.) & The University of Limerick (Ireland) in association with HaHu Entertainment PLC. presents an Ethio-Modern Dance performance directed by RAS Mikey Courtney on July 2, 2016. This community based cultural exchange explores Ethiopia’s connection to the world through dance and will feature choreographic collaborations with dance artists of Ethiopia and others from around the globe.

Carlos Lopes discusses the demography, land mass, the blue economy, migration, and more within Africa and globally, to give a better and clearer idea of Africa’s place in the world. The talk will be followed by drinks reception. The discussion will take place on July 4, 2016 in Hall 1 of African Union.

Event: Photo Exhibition Date: June 16, 2016 Venue: Gebrekiristos Desta Center

www.facebook.com/events

Event: Discussion Date: July 1, 2016 Venue: African Union

www.goethe.de

Event: Dance Performance Date: July 2, 2016 Venue: National Theater of Ethiopia

Event: Ras Tafari Ethiopia Pilgrimage; footsteps of Emperor Haile Selassie I & RTV 2nd Anniversary Date: July 15-29, 2016 Organizer: Ethio-US tours

An organized group travel with live stream and documentary filming and sharing in which participants will visit landmarks and historical places built and wrote about by Emperor Haile Selassie I. The package will include airfares, accommodation, meals, live stream and transportation

On June 16, 2016 Peregrinate features the work of three photographers: South Africans Thabiso Sekgala and Musa Nxumalo, and Kenyan Mimi Cherono Ng’ok in the modern art museum of Gebre Kiristos Desta Center. The exhibition explores the concept of photography as a common method of investigation, discovery and representation – an act of wandering undertaken by the photographer as traveler and explorer.

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Eminence Spotlight: Interview

Photo by:www.jqjacobs.net

A New Tourism Dimension; MICE

“I say MICE came to Ethiopia late”

Kumneger Teketel is founder and managing director of Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group, a company which has engaged in consultancy and hotel project development for the past 5 years. He is also the organizer of the first Meetings, Incentive Travels, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) East Africa Forum & Expo and fourth edition of Hotel Show Africa 2016 entitled Hospitality Investment Trade Show to be held from June 9-12, 2016. He obtained his Diploma from AAU- College of Commerce in Banking & Finance, first LLB degree in Law from Unity University and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Lincoln University. He had worked as Operations Officer in Different Posts at Hilton Addis Hotel and General Manager of Capital Hotel & Spa and Ambassador Hotel for over 12 years. The Eminence’s contributor KALEAB HAILU sat down with Kumneger to discuss the upcoming expos and the hospitality and tourism industry of Ethiopia.

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How did you come up with the idea of organizing Hotel Show Africa and Meetings, Incentive Travels, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) forum and expo?

When you are working in the hotel, travel and tourism industry, there are common trends in the world. One of them is an international trade fair. When I traveled for business or personal purposes, I always asked the reason behind the growth and progress of travel industries in several countries and how the hotels are marketed.

So when I started studying the reasons behind this, the first thing that I found was that international expos are common platforms.

I started my own expo after witnessing the impact that international expos had on a country. I started the Hotel Show which has now evolved by having a correlation with technology, services and new products which hotels are bringing.

At the end I came to realize that the expo industry is the best platform. And when we talk about MICE, it is a terminology that is globally known; currently these kinds of expos are making major differences.

At the last three expos the title was “Hotel Show Ethiopia” but now it has changed to Fourth Hotel Show Africa 2016. Tell me about the progression.

Well, everything has its own progression.

Our evolution occurred due to several reasons; the number of participants is increasing. Knowing that people come from Africa to visit, developing exhibiters’ capacity and constant requests from participants pushed us to shift. In fact, development doesn’t occur by working alone. You have to grow together with your neighboring countries.

If a country has encouraging progress in the hospitality industry, the neighboring countries tend to be attracted to that

county. That is what we are trying to do. As a result, this year the majority of participants are from the hospitality sector. The name itself “Hotel Show Africa Hospitality Investment Trade Show” is directly related to investment and new product demonstrations.

How many companies participated during the previous events, how do you evaluate it and what were the outcomes?

When we first started, there were exhibiters from 65 companies each representing two brands. So, there were over 120 brands who participated in the event. In the following round the figure had doubled.

In the second round exhibiters were estimated at 130 representing 280 brands.

The third round was even larger with 180 exhibitors with 320 brands representation.

Some international companies could not afford to bring their employees from their main office, so some Ethiopian agents represented more than five companies.

For instance, Glorious participated by representing Sony.

“Stadiums have been built in regional states, and some are under construction that can serve as conferences, festival and exhibitions centers.”

From the last three editions which one was successful for you?

I can say the first one was most successful.

I had spent so much energy and time on it.

I hadn’t slept for almost six months. The main effort was to make the first round successful. Afterwards, I learnt the next one was much better.

Do you believe organizing MICE Expo is a

priority for Ethiopia? Many people believe that the country should first focus on working on its facilities before promoting MICE business, what is your stand on this?

I say MICE came to Ethiopia late. MICE is a good example that nothing will show progress if it is not started in the first place. Anything that doesn’t have a selling platform will not be successful. The way I see it, we don’t have a common platform.

If a business needs to grow it has to start at one point. For example, you remember the mystery about the hotels’ star rating, which showed that no one knew who made the grading. When we asked which areas we have to work on, we realized that there are no existing platforms.

The government and individuals could create this platform. The challenges with the individuals are they have to pass through various bureaucracies.

Platforms could not be created easily. In the rest of the world private companies create platforms. Creating platforms is considered as an independent form of business. Subsequently, if you ask “is it better to develop the platform or work on the infrastructure?” the answer will be both. It has to grow simultaneously; we cannot say the platform will follow after the hotel industry has reached its potential development.

In our country every month, one new hotel opens in Addis Ababa. I can say people are investing more in hotels. Therefore, the MICE event is taking place at the right time. If the MICE forum and expo opened four or five years ago it wouldn’t have meaning but now I can say this is the right moment.

Do you think Ethiopia is well-equipped logistically and ready to accommodate meetings for businesses? There are problems regarding getting visas, customs clearance and logistics. The participants’ claim that

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Eminence Spotlight: Interview they are challenged to get equipment in and out. What do you think we should do regarding the above mentioned points?

we talk about MICE, the event will be open to industry operators only ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 visitors.

As to readiness I can say we are ready at this stage. Countries with less infrastructure and fewer facilities or hotels than Ethiopia are getting into the meeting industry business.

As we all agree, lot of improvement is expected from the government office and private organizations in connection with upgrading the standards.

There are always challenges in these kinds of events. What were your challenges? How did you overcome them?

In the beginning, there were several discouraging elements, but I don’t see them as challenges. I faced challenging steps when I visited different offices as they didn’t recognize the power that international expos have. But we need a lot of improvements in the bureaucratic steps in facilitating such type of Ethiopian-based international events.

What does Ethiopia offer that other African countries could not in MICE business?

Ethiopian Airlines is the major difference. It can bring meeting attendees from every part of the world which most African countries cannot.

Most of international conferences are held in Addis Ababa, except the Ministerial meetings which are held in Bahir Dar and Mekelle. This shows that regional states are not being able to host international meetings as they do not have large enough venues and facilities. What do think that should be done about it?

As the demand increases rapidly, adequate conference assembly places will start to be built. Regional areas are showing reasonable development in terms of conference facilities. But they have not reached optimal standards, yet. Stadiums have been built in regional states, and some are under construction that can serve as conferences, festival and exhibitions centers.

I believe in the coming five years we will have ten to fifteen international stadiums. If we use our stadiums wisely, it can be a huge source of foreign currency.

What will be the major effect of MICE business towards the tourism industry of Ethiopia?

As the organizer of the event, my primary focus is creating common platforms for the travel, hospitality and tourism sectors.

The second one is creating an awareness regarding MICE. If much awareness is created focusing on MICE Tourism, measurable and reliable foreign currency will be generated. I believe that much emphasis must be deployed on business tourism. Of course leisure tourism is also a part of MICE Industry, i.e incentive travel.

At any level MICE Tourism is much better from most of the industries in relation to the country development, foreign currency generation and a stable and reliable source of fund.

As a hospitality consultant you do not give priority for working on international brand

The EminenceEminence- Issue Issue 20 20 -- June June 2016 2016 12 The

When it comes to awareness and understanding there was huge gaps, how did you overcome those?

Kumneger at IMEX expo held in Germany. He participated to promote Ethiopia as a MICE destination.

hotel management deals, why is that?

It is not like that; currently I consult with 25 to 30 hotel projects in different areas.

Within this, more than half of the hotel deals are with internationally branded hotels. Internationally branded hotels bring new knowledge to us but we do not have to be always dependent on them. I currently consult with more than 15 international branded companies including Radisson Blu, and Plaza. We have even finalized five deals to be signed in the coming three months.

Are there companies which will take part in both the Hotel Show and MICE expos?

If a handful of hotels participate in the hotel show this will bring new products, and we will give them a chance to show them at the MICE expo. For example, there are companies that occupied huge spaces while demonstrating at the spa and conference centers. Take Jupiter Hotel, it is working on catering services. Therefore, it will demonstrate this service at the hotel show and at MICE as well. There are other hotels that will demonstrate their new product at both events.

How many visitors are you expecting for each of the expos?

We sent 65,000 invitations for Hotel Show Africa and we are expecting 25,000-30,000 visitors as it is open to the public. But when

Informing the stakeholders was my essential activity which I did in different ways; we were promoting the concept through face to face meetings and social media. We pursued the key players; afterwards it was all downhill from there. We promptly accept comments that come from anyone and consider them for improvements. We also received different aspects of support from Ministry of Culture & Tourism (MoCT) and Ethiopian Tourism Organisation (ETO).

What shall we expect from you in the near future?

We have some plans; we will launch another international expo during the June event.

In terms of business platforms, I want to create a permanent dais called “My Business” event, enabling people to meet every two weeks and interact with other businesspeople. We also have a vision to create this event in an Ethiopian way for the hospitality, tourism and travel industry. We are also in the process to expand in other East African countries.

What do you suggest to develop the MICE Industry in Ethiopia?

Initially Ethiopia needs the National Convention Bureau to boost the industry on the national and regional basis; that will be a great wing for ETO. On top of that Ethiopian-based MICE platform like trade shows, conferences and trainings have to happen every year. The other important part is utilizing the existing infrastructure properly and building human capacity also has to go side by side.

Finally, arranging many incentives to the private sector to get involved in building the infrastructure for conventions center and events is a vital issue

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Eminence Spotlight: Ethio-topical

MICE: Game Changer for Ethiopia’s Tourism Sector The number of conference tourits flowing to the country during the past 5 years.

Source: Ministry of Culture & Tourism Ethiopia has been branded as a country endowed with numerous natural, historical, social and cultural heritages starting as far back as the Axumite civilization. The ancient antiquities of Ethiopia such as Lalibela, Axum and Harar Wall have been marketed to be the major elements of Ethiopian tourism. But these days a new day is coming to the Ethiopian tourism industry; conference tourism (meeting industry) and more recently, Meeting, Incentives travel, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE).

The Eminence’s KALEAB HAILU unravels what the new era of MICE industry is bringing to Ethiopia’s tourism industry.

Being rich with natural resources and antiquities, Ethiopia has been a destination for leisure tourists and historians coming to find out and explore these heritages and cultural sites. However, worldwide these types of tourists are not considered as major sources of revenue as they are budgeted travelers.

Rather tourists travelling for meetings and conferences spend up to five times more than leisure travelers as they are sponsored by their companies during their stay. On average meeting travelers have a spending power ranging from 500600 percent higher from leisure travelers, according to some researches.

In addition to that, international business tourism is estimated to account for 45 percent out of the world’s annual earnings from tourism. The other advantage of the meeting industry is that 40 percent of business travelers return with their family as leisure tourists. Moreover, 19 percent of international delegates bring an accompanying person to a conference.

Because of all these factors the meeting

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industry generates an enormous amount of revenue for a nation. According to a data from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) report 2014, from the estimated 24,000 regularly occurring association meetings worldwide 280 billion USD was generated.

Africa as a continent only has 3.3 percent share of the global MICE market, while Europe accounts for a 55 percent market share.

The tourism industry in the world is becoming a major revenue source for the economies of many nations. In 2014, there were 1.1 billion tourists arriving around the world and there is a sound estimation that this figure will reach 1.8 billion by the year 2030. Out of them 14 percent or 252 million arrivals will be business travelers coming for professional purposes.

Africa as a continent only has 3.3 percent share of the global MICE market at present with a steady annual growth while

Europe accounts for a 55 percent market share. Africa is estimated to host around 77 million business travelers in 2020 with regional arrivals amounting to 50 million out of the total figure.

When world countries are being major beneficiaries from the meeting business; Ethiopia seems to lag behind. But now the business is starting to emerge as the number of meetings which Ethiopia hosts are increasing. According to a data from the ICCA, during the year of 2000, the number of international meetings held in Ethiopia was only one. But during the past fiscal year of 2014/15 the number has grown to a little over 10, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT).

With its current status, among African countries Ethiopia stands 15th by the number of international meetings it hosted in 2014. South Africa stands at 1st rank by hosting 124 meetings. In addition neighboring country Kenya was ranked at 3rd by hosting 24 meetings.

The reason mentioned for the under

Leisure Travel Spending Business Travel Spending

Travel Spending Leisure travel spending (inbound and domestic) generated 85% of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2014 (56,881.1 million ETB) compared with 15% for business travel spending (10,029.5 million ETB)

Source: World Travel and Tourism Council Report 2015 performance of the tourism industry according to Solomon Tadesse, CEO of Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO), is the relatively less focus given to the tourism sector in the early days by developing infrastructure and strengthening the manufacturing sector which created immediate and guaranteed jobs.

If the country invested more resource and attention towards the business, there is a huge market. According to ICCA, there are 377 potential association meeting opportunities that are available for Ethiopia.

Even with its current status, the meeting industry is emerging as a new subsector of the hospitality industry by becoming a common trend to hold meetings, conferences, conventions and other gatherings out of the headquarters domain of organizations.

Currently, international conferences are, however, being outsourced to destination management companies that go to cities and countries that have meeting industry potentials following the global emerging trend. The concept was present in other parts of the world to create a platform for business to business introduction of stakeholders of the industry. Nonetheless, it is more lately that MICE was introduced in Ethiopia’s hospitality industry.

“This is the right time for Ethiopia to accommodate MICE business as the infrastructures in the hospitality and tourism industry are being developed.

For instance in Addis Ababa every month one new hotel is joining the business,” explains Kumneger Teketel, managing director of Ozzie Business and

Hospitality Group.

Unlike many other businesses when MICE business comes to a country it benefits over 12 sectors including, airlines, hotels, venues, car rentals, event organisers, banks, interpreters, booth owners, tour operators, logistics, catering companies and tourism & travel consultants. The cumulative effect will jump start the tourism sector and the country’s economy.

In terms of revenue, the business can be evaluated as follows. In a year if Ethiopia gets 10 meetings with 2,000 delegates who would stay for five nights with a daily spending of 450 USD, the country would earn 45 million USD. In addition to that the country could earn 24 million USD from air tickets if these 20,000 attendees pay an average of 1,200 USD. So, the country stands to earn a total annual income of 69 million USD or 1.25 billion ETB from the meeting industry only.

In addition to the revenue generation MICE business has several advantages for the country. To mention few, it will diversify tourism sector, enhance and build the image of the country, attract investors, create opportunity for the private sector, and guarantee a stable and reliable tourism sector as it is not a seasonal business.

Both government and the private sector believe that, in Ethiopia a new era has come by way of the meeting industry. But in order to be one of the top beneficiaries from the business the country should do a lot, according to Zenawi Mesfin, general manager of Intercontinental Addis, one of the 4 star hotels in the city.

One of the major things Zenawi mentions

is the government bodies should work consistently on promoting the country on global broadcasting channels to bring more meetings to the city.

In the meantime industry players have to work vigorously on expanding the infrastructures of the hospitality sector and enhance the capacity of human resource. To realize all these, the government should give incentives, support and encouragement for the private sector, according to Zenawi.

On the other hand to show the world the potential of the country in hosting international meeting and conferences, Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group has launched the MICE East Africa Forum and Expo to be held between the 9th and 11th of June, 2016 at the Millennium Hall. The Expo has the main aim of bringing 50 hosted buyers from different parts of the country who have the capacity of bringing 350 to 40,000 meeting attendees annually.

The event is also expected to draw 60 local exhibitors including tour and travel agents, event organisers, venue owners and hotels & resorts with an estimated number of 3,000-4,000 visitors.

At the present time, the government has also recognized the potential of meeting industry and for its part, ETO, as the delegated government body, has started to work towards attracting more meetings to Ethiopia. ETO, to realize its plans, is currently encouraging private businesses such as Ozzie in organizing such events and even more so it has a plan to launch annual MICE forum and expos, according to Solomon

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Ethiopia Economy Class Eminence Magazine 20.5cm W x 26.8cm H.pdf

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Eminence Spotlight: Interview

Putting Ethiopia into a MICE Map A new era is coming to the tourism industry of Ethiopia. It’s turning its face from leisure, holiday and business tourists to conference and meeting tourists who are flocking to the country. To show the country’s potential for Meeting, Incentives Travel, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) tourism, Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group launches the first East African MICE Expo. The Eminence’s FASIKA TADESSE sat down with Solomon Tadesse, CEO of the Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO) and discussed the advantages that the expo will demonstrate for Ethiopia’s tourism sector and the MICE business in general. Excerpts: What are the roles of the Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO) in the upcoming Meeting Incentives Travel Conferences and Exhibition Forum & Expo (MICE) to be held between June 9 and 11, 2016?

By promoting tourism we are partnering with private investors who are working in the tourism sector, the area which we really want to get involved in. One of the areas we want to work on is MICE. Every year Ethiopia is becoming more popular as a location for meetings and as a conference center. These are products that we can really capitalize on and move forward. These are low-hanging fruits that we can really collaborate with the private sector to get ideas moving forward.

For the internationally recognized event brokers, or what we call outbound tour operators, are coming here to see Ethiopia’s potential and readiness for MICE tourism. The event offers many advantages to show the country’s resources.

In that respect we are working in collaboration with Ozzie, private company which is organizing the first East African MICE Forum & Expo. We are working with the organizer by supporting them in every way that we can. And we are looking forward to strong participation at the event to introduce Ethiopia in a new format for international guests who are coming for the event.

During the event we will promote the stable security and less congested traffic of Ethiopia. We have been branded by the world as a country of famine. We will change that image. We will tell attendees that they can come here and hold meetings in the country that is rich in history and which has interesting facilities and tourism sites that they can visit after their meetings.

Do you think that Ethiopia is ready to accommodate the MICE business in terms of facilities?

Yes, of course. We have good weather, a stable and peaceful environment, and at the same time, suitable logistics that we have developed throughout the years.We also have international venues, such as

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the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic for Africa (UNECA), that have different size conference halls. We offer quality facilities for immigration and customs.

And on top of that we have our own airlines which can bring anyone from 93 countries directly to Ethiopia. We have also star-rated hotels that can accommodate small meetings and offer skilled tour operator companies.

Do you think that the country has ample venues that will match the standards of delegates who are coming to Addis Ababa for large meetings and conferences?

We do not have to compare Ethiopia with other countries but only with itself. If you look at the Financing for Development (FFD) meeting which was held in July 2015, it was organized in an Ethiopian way because it was designed by Ethiopians.

If we ask 15,000 people to come to a conference in Ethiopia, that may not be realistic. The maximum we have done previously was for a health-related conference which accommodated 10,000 people.

In that respect we are ready to accept that size of meetings and conferences.

So in general, yes we are ready. It is a process. As we start out gradually we will be developing our own meeting and conference centers.

Convention management centers have a great role in selling the conference tourism image of the country, but Ethiopia doesn’t have an independent institution like ETO and Tourism Transformation Council. Why has that not happen yet?

The country has been going through major changes.

The priorities were given to develop infrastructure and strengthen the manufacturing sector which created immediate and guaranteed jobs.

We did not have the worldly accepted concept of convention centers or convention management bureaus. But now the country is ready to have the basic infrastructure of convention centers and convention management bodies, and we will definitely go forward to promote Ethiopia as a MICE destination.

“Now we are ready to accept meetings with up to 10,000 attendees” As an industry insider how do you evaluate the potential of MICE business in Ethiopia?

It is just a beginning. For the past several years tourists have been coming to Ethiopia for the regular African Union meetings. Now many more international organizations are holding meetings in Ethiopia. It is an exploration level now. And definitely we will see many more meetings and conferences here.

Now the question is how we can be creative in selling the image of the country to people who are coming here for meetings. One example we have is the Great Run in November, a month which is usually cold in many European countries and the U.S. We can promote both the Great Run and meeting to international visitors, encouraging them to hold conferences and meetings in Ethiopia in November so they can participate in the Great Run of Ethiopia. We can do the same for the unique holidays of Ethiopia such as Meskel and Epiphany festivals. The next step should be thinking how we can bring meetings and leisure tourists at the same time.

Photo by: Henok Solomon

One of the duties of ETO is selling the image of the country to the global market by participating in international exhibitions, trade fairs and expos to attract meeting organizers to see Ethiopia as a potential meeting destination.

So far, how many international events have you participated in and what were the results?

The major trade fair we have participated was on the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB Berlin), the world’s largest tourism trade fair which was attended by international buyers and tour operators. These attendees met Ethiopian inbound tour operators and signed contracts to work jointly. We made presentations at the event portraying the conducive environment that Ethiopia offers for tourism.

We have also participated in road shows held in different cities including Tokyo and Los Angeles and also have worked with our embassies abroad and Ethiopian Airlines.

The first meeting was in Tokyo which had 40 outbound operators.We took eight local tour operators from Ethiopia and they signed contracts with those 40 outbound tour operators after negotiating tourism packages.

Beyond that we have a plan to organize our own tourism trade fairs in Ethiopia by inviting tour operators from Africa and the rest of the world. We are working on that to tell the world that Ethiopia is not just a place to visit but also a place which is ready to host a trade fair.

Solomon Tadesse, CEO of Ethiopian Tourism Organization

Research has shown that 40 percent of meeting travelers come back with their families to visit tourist destinations.

What is ETO doing to promote leisure tourism by adding value to conference tourists coming for different meeting or conferences?

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This is something that we have been articulating. We are planning to do it in two ways; one working with tour operators and Ethiopian Airlines to come up with tourist packages. We are planning to take conference attendees to different areas before or after the conference if they have time by arranging tours such as a day trip to Axum, Lalibela, Nech Sar or Bishoftu resorts for a quick visit. Then they will definitely come back another time to visit these places again.

Our next approach will be for those who do not have time to visit after the meetings by setting up our traditional coffee ceremony, brochures, and posters in booths at the conferences. By collaborating with National Museum and National Archive and Library Agency we will bring all traditional and cultural books. We will also bring Ethiopian handicraft makers to display their products.

The other thing we are planning to do is to set up collections at the airport and putting together displaying the beauty of Ethiopia. We will put postcards and other items which they can take with them and will encourage them to come back again.

Is there any business directory prepared by your organization that presents organized information and contact addresses of MICE key players such as event organizers, destination managers, tour operators, venue owners and the like?

The whole thing is a new concept for the country and the June’s event is a great venue to bring all conference centers, event organizers and hotels and resorts together.

The EminenceEminence- Issue Issue 20 20 -- June June 2016 2016 22 The

But in our case we have a list of hotels and tour operators but not event organizers as they are not directly working with us.

Are these data published and available for the public or industry operators to use? If not are you planning to publish them?

No, they are not published, but this is something we are planning to do. We have already uploaded upcoming events on our website. Those are the main things we are doing and going forward with.

“When you compare with other countries Ethiopia has a cheapest visa fee” Do you have specific plans or strategies designed to assist the MICE industry of Ethiopia?

We are working with all the different ministries that have annual meetings out of the country. We give data and the necessary information for representatives of the ministries who are going to abroad.

The information will help them to advocate for the event organizers to hold their next meetings in Ethiopia.

For instance two years ago, officials from the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy went to Colombia for a meeting.

We provided all the promotion materials about Ethiopia to the CEO of Ethiopian Electric Power Engineer, Azeb Asnake.

She made a presentation at the meeting and convinced the organizers to bring the

Photo by:www.jqjacobs.net

Photo by: Henok Solomon

Eminence Spotlight: Interview Advertorial

World Energy Council meeting that was held in Addis Ababa in October 2015.

Beyond that we are planning to travel with ministries and display promotional materials and make presentations to bring those meetings to Ethiopia.

What are the challenges you are facing in selling Ethiopia for both leisure and meeting tourists?

I do not call them challenges. But basically selling Ethiopia as it is will definitely not bring the expected fruits. But in selling we have to make sure that our products are in good and acceptable shape. For example a tourist coming from London might also have the option to go to Kenya or Ethiopia.

To make this tourist decide to come to Ethiopia we have to be competitive and comparable. Before comparing our facilities to Kenya, for example, our prices for services such as airfare, hotel room rates, and prices for tour operators and entrance fees for tourist attraction sites that we provide must be looked at.

The cost of the entry visa fee has been increased; how do you think that will impact the inflow of tourists to Ethiopia?

That won’t have any impact. When you compare it with other countries, Ethiopia has the cheapest visa fee.

If you go to many places in Africa even the closest, visa fees are above 250 USD per person. So that is not an issue at all for a tourist who is coming in. Although 50 USD may look expensive when it is changed to Ethiopian birr, that is not the case, so it has no impact

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Eminence Spotlight: Ethio-Topical

Banks looking towards MICE as Possible Growth Area

According to some studies, when international meetings and conferences are hosted in a certain country, in addition to the country’s economy, more than 10 other service sectors stand to benefit from the meetings. The banking industry is one of them along with hotels, venues, and tour and travel agencies. As the meeting industry is a relatively new concept for Ethiopia, most Ethiopian banks have not seen it as a potential source of foreign currency. But these days banks are diverting their attention to this new phenomenon. The Eminence’s FASIKA TADESSE explores what Ethiopian banks are doing to reap the fruits from meeting industry.

Most of the materials in the Ethiopian market, starting from consumer goods to heavy machineries are imported from abroad. This is happening because the county has yet to reach levels to produce these items locally.

USD needed to import the necessary goods and services to lift the economy in the coming five years.

As a way out, the GTP II plans to earn the stated amount of foreign currency through different mechanisms including exports, loans, grants and tourism.

known as conference tourism.

That is why Ethiopian banks have started seeing the new mechanism of earning foreign currency through conference tourism.

According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) in the coming five years the country plans to generate revenues amounting to 6 billion USD from the tourism industry.

Berhan International Bank (BIB), a relatively new bank among the 19 Ethiopian banks, became operational in 2009. BIB sees the earning potential that the meeting industry has for bringing foreign currency into its account and the country as well.

The amount expected from tourism is just five percent of the total needed amount of 119.5 billon USD. But in other African countries, earnings from the tourism sector per year exceeds Ethiopia’s five year target.

The Bank managed to moblise gross 800,000 USD of foreign currency during Movement for African National Initiative’s 2016, continental consultation meeting which was held in March 2016 at the African Union headquarters.

But still the country’s trade balance is negative because imports exceed exports.

Egypt is a good example. During 2015 alone Egypt earned 7.3 billion USD from the tourism sector, according to data from World Bank.

To fill this gap, the country has to explore different options to finance the nation’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) which will be phased-out by 2020 and also foot the estimated bill of 119.5 billion

Egypt highly benefits from the tourism industry because it continues to expand its tourism facilities both for leisure and the new emerging tourism subsector that includes the meeting industry which also

The meeting drew some 1,800 attendees.

The Bank was the exclusive sponsor for the event so that the foreign currency that came into the country and which attendees brought in was transacted and exchanged only through Berhan.

So for as a temporary solution, the country is importing these materials while working at enhancing the capacities of the local manufacturing sector.

By importing these items the country is spending large amounts of foreign currency - in fact over 15 billion USD every year.

To earn foreign currency which is needed to import products and to fund different developmental projects, Ethiopia is using several ways including exports, grants, loans, and other mechanisms to improve the trade balance.

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“Most of the attendees came with T-Chek [a system which companies use to manage their employees’ business spending during

In the Coming 5 Years, the Country Plans to Generate 6 billion USD Revenue from Tourism Industry.

The amount which BIB mobilized from that single meeting was significant when compared with the bank’s 2014/15 fiscal year’s total foreign currency earnings of 69.2 million USD. “The primary merit of Meeting Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) business for the banks is to enable them to earn enormous amounts of foreign currency,” said Kumneger Teketel, managing director of Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group, and organiser of MICE East Africa Forum and Expo.

“In addition to the international plastic cards which Dashen accepts and transacts, as an approach to earning foreign currency, the bank finds the meeting industry as another potential source of foreign currency,” said Asfaw Alemu President of Dashen.

Dashen has targeted reaping the benefits from international conferences coming into the country.

They will earn from the cash transactions which will pass through it, but also from the cash withdraws made through international plastic card providers that Dashen is working with.

But the state-owned giant and the leading bank in terms of its foreign currency earnings, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), is working hard to tap into international meetings by providing a foreign exchange service at various venues where attendees congregate.

“For instance we have branches at the major conference venues of Addis Ababa; the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA),” Ephrem Mekuria, communication manager of CBE told The Eminence.

According to Ephrem, CBE is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and different stakeholders who are bringing meetings to the country to provide banking services for the meeting attendees who are coming through them.

5.Yalden’s Desmomys

If a certain meeting with 500 attendees comes to Ethiopia and spends five days and if each of the guests on average spend 400 USD per day, the country will mobilize 10 million USD. If the 10 million USD is transacted through a specific bank it would have two major advantages: one is the bank will get that foreign currency,Wolf and the other 3.Ethiopian is the fee the bank gets for selling the Picture Source: www.arkive.org foreign currency it earned at the meeting, according Population: to Kumneger. 450 adults and sub-adults

“WeSource: placed FOREX ATM machines and Picture www.planet-mamopen foreign currency exchange windows miferes.org at key locations where conference tourists Location: Infound humid afro-montane could be including airports, hotels, and conference venues,” Ephrem added. forest Population: Current population un-is Money that transacts through banks globally named reliable and measurable known

roughly Location: north of the Great Rift Valley the He also added that if a single bank attaches itsSimien name with a MICE business, Mountains, North Wollo, South Wollo that specific bank will pop up on the Lined up ATM machines located at one of the Highlands and Menz and the Arsi and Bale minds of meeting organiser as the place tourism hub area. to convert Mountains their cash.

That is what Dashen Bank S.C, the largest Ethiopian private bank, is striving for.

Not all banks are using the same strategy to benefit from MICE business. Some prefer to make all of the transactions for the meetings through their bank, while others see spending by international plastic cars as an option.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

travel and any other activities] and international plastic cards which enabled all of the transactions which came into the country to only pass through our bank,” Abraham Alero, President of the bank told The Eminence.

Dashen is the exclusive bank sponsor for the June 2016 MICE East Africa Forum and Expo.

All of Dashen’s ATMs and PoS terminals accept Master Card, American Express Card (AMEX), China Union, and Visa Card.

since it is corporate money.

Ethiopia will benefit more from conference tourism by earning measurable and reliable foreign currency reserves through these banks which are now eagerly attaching themselves to the MICE business

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Of all the Beauty of Nature; Being a Mother is the Greatest

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Photo By: Gonzalo Guajardo Issue 20 - June 2016 -The Eminence

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Eminence Spotlight: Society

Photo by: Mahlet Sebhat

Addis Inaugurates First Skateboarding Park

By Mahlet Sebhat

He came up with the idea of founding the skate park of Ethiopia with other skateboarders in Addis Ababa after becoming friends with Sean Stromsoe four years ago. Yeabkol gives credit to Sean and his girlfriend Mahader Akalu for skillfully browsing the Internet and persistently searching for the perfect partners. Their friendship grew into planning, using international contacts, and working together to have their common dream realized.

As crowds of people travel past the Laphto Mall in Nifas Silk Lafto Sub City, they will notice the newest generation of skateboarders racing up and down the manmade concrete ramps. The Addis Skate Park dedication was inaugurated with electronic music from a local DJ, pizza and other foods and drinks from local vendors.

Volunteer skaters showing Ethiopian kids how to skate at the new park

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Visitors of all ages were served traditional coffee (Buna) and popcorn during the inaugural ceremony.

With electronic and popular music, pumping through the speakers, the crowd was feeling the adrenaline of the day.

The project brought together over 60 volunteers from 17 countries to create the newly opened sports park. Most of them stayed for three weeks to help establish the Park. The purpose of the Park is to provide a safe environment to bring together youth of all ages and social classes to live out their alternative sport dreams, according to Robyn Chaconas a volunteer for Make Life Skate Life who traveled from the US. According to Chaconas, each of the volunteers paid their own way to travel to

Ethiopia for the project. The guests stayed in one guesthouse and ate mixed local cuisine including Injera and Wat (Ethiopian stew).

Their project began on March 16 as they collected materials and tools, following a successful Indiegogo crowd funding campaign that raised 35,000 USD.

Photo by: Mahlet Sebhat

With all the trials and the efforts, Yeabkol finally learned by email that Make Life Skate Life chose Addis Ababa to construct their first Skate Park in Africa. His dream has come true and he has succeeded in opening the first skate parking ever in Ethiopia on April 16, 2016.

Photo by: Mahlet Sebhat

Yeabkol Abraham, 22, was a street boy, but his entire life has changed. He is now working at Salem Vocational and Technical College (SVTC) where he had pursued his studies. He has been an in-line roller skater for the past seven and half years and a bona fide skateboarder for eight months.

Yeabkal Abraham, one of the founding member of the park

The project came into being after everything came together, including receiving the land, securing permission to build, and sourcing the materials needed to build the Park. In addition to the new park in Addis Ababa,

a person’s self-esteem is well worth it,� said Mraz.

Ethiopia, since 2013 Make Life Skate Life has been establishing skate parks in India, Bolivia, Jordan and Myanmar.

Another challenge that they faced was the change of weather on Wednesday, April 16. On that day, it had rained on the new cement all night and slightly damaging the new park. Nevertheless, they were able to re-polish the concrete once the rain stopped.

In building the park, the volunteers incorporated authentic Ethiopian scenery.

They built around the trees in the park.

Photo by: Mahlet Sebhat

When establishing the Park, volunteers faced several challenges including language barriers, such as Amharic names for specific tools and difficulties finding the tools and materials in the local market. As an example, a volunteer mentioned the challenge they faced while searching for a self-loading mixer and a Putzmeister pump (that mixes 45 cubic meters of cement instead of hand mixing).

A skating board decorated with paintings

After opening the park, the volunteer group taught skateboarders the basic skills, various tricks, and safety rules of the sport.

They want the youth to understand how to take care of their bodies and how it will ultimately help them become great examples for their community.

Unfortunately, before the new park became a reality Yabokal suffered injuries to his ankle while he was playing football with his friends one evening. It was bitter sweet inauguration day for him as he was not able to do the tricks he envisioned doing in that new skate park.

As the opening day for Addis Skate Park came closer, his ankle was healing, but no longer the impulsive teenager, he realized it would be unwise to skate on the ramps on opening day. Carefully and slowly, he cruised around the flat surface in the Kebele Youth Club, admitting that his ankle still gave him pain.

Two volunteers from Make Life Skate Life seen in the photo cementing the skating park.

Hosoda became interested in skateboarding while he was 10 to 13 years old. During those years, he had seen a small skateboard that resembled a plastic toy in the window of a store in his hometown. While his parents were at work, he learned how to do basic tricks. As he grew older, he advanced to a bigger skateboard. He moved to a bigger town to learn more about the sport of skateboarding. Now he volunteers to support Ethiopian youth to have their own skate park.

Jerry Mraz was another volunteer who was doing some tricks with locals on the inauguration day. At the same time, he was teaching them skateboarding skills. He was advising new skateboarders to take small steps and to take the time to learn all the skateboard safety lessons. He explained that boarding was a combination of wrestling and martial arts skills of bending the body when moving on the board. Eventually muscle memory helps the learner move to the next level, according to Mraz. “We want young people to understand there is more to the sport than just staying on the board. Yes, they can hurt themselves by breaking bones, but the feeling of building

Photo by: Mahlet Sebhat

Photo by: Mahlet Sebhat

Daiki Hosoda, a volunteer from Japan received encouragement and support when he told his family his decision to travel to Ethiopia to support his friends to establish the new skate park. He was out there on the dedication day mentoring a young skateboarder.

Ethiopian kid who is ready for skating wearing helmet for safety

Even if Yabokal could not skate at this new park, young volunteers such as Mraz, Hosoda and Chaconas travelled the extra mile to come to this corner of the world in order to create a place that can change so many lives. The new park has become a stage to bring youth together to enjoy a sport and opening its doors to all regardless of their backgrounds

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ADVERTORIAL

The Kuriftu Ethiopian Cultural Village is an innovative concept in Ethiopia which showcases the best of the country’s unique traditions through marketing handcrafted Ethiopian goods, and promoting Ethiopia’s rich cultural history. The village will provide opportunities for artisans to market their products internationally through Ethiopia’s very first e-commerce company, and help build a strong economy for future entrepreneurs.

The Kuriftu Ethiopian cultural village lies on a 74,000 square meter plot to the side of Lake Bishoftu. It has 200 guest rooms and over 100 retail shops providing the 5-star Kuriftu standard in a surreal environment that ventures into the depths of the rich Ethiopian cultural history. The cultural village has also an international standard conference hall which has a capacity to accommodate of over 1,000 people. In addition to that the cultural village has a food court with 10 Ethiopian restaurants serving a variety of national cuisines.

A beer and wine hall, a spa, a water recreation area, courier services, banking services, airlines ticket offices, tour and travel agencies and night entertainment lounge are also included among the facilities and services which the cultural center will be providing.

The village was established with a three key pillars in mind. The first mission is to promote skilled Ethiopian artisans by serving as a venue designed to expose

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Ethiopian artists to thousands of visitors, and allow them to experience firsthand what it takes to make intricate crafts.

It would also create an opportunity for Ethiopian artisans to enter the international market.

The second mission of the cultural center is to promote Ethiopian products globally.

The village will be a center for innovation and a place for friendly competition amongst artisans. For the first time a central hub will be created to represent Ethiopian goods to the world.

The last mission of the center is towards creating a tourist attraction point. The village is a place to explore the role of traditional Ethiopian culture that is juxtaposed with today’s urban dynamics.

It is designed to give a firsthand experience of Ethiopia’s tribal folklore, rituals, crafts, and ancestral tradition.

In the area visitors will experience the customs, practices, rituals, dances,

folklore, and arts & crafts of Ethiopia, creating a glimpse of Ethiopia’s rich history and culture. Guests will also have a one-stop-shop where they can find different crafts, which will more easily facilitate their cultural exposure.

Furthermore, it will be an opportunity for tourists to find common ground through the trade of beautifully crafted local products. Craftsman will demonstrate the entire process of making their products, creating a fully immersive experience.

Apart from its existing nine business units, Boston partners have other projects which are under construction. Kuriftu Resort & Spa at Ghuralta, Kuriftu Resort & Spa at Lake Hora, Kurifrtu African Village in Addis Ababa, Kuriftu African Village at Red Sea (Moucha Island; Djibouti), Kuriftu Water Park, Kuriftu Vegetables & Fruits Farm, Castel-Kuriftu Wine House in Bishoftu and The Warehouse Lounge in Addis Ababa are among them

Photo by: Henok Solomon

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Hospitality 3600: Hospi-Tourism

The 5

Endemic Wildlife of Ethiopia That are Endangered

Ethiopia has a large variety of indigenous plant and animal species which make the country naturally unique and rich. But historically, wildlife populations have been rapidly declining owing to logging, civil wars, hunting, pollution, poaching and other human interference leading to even greater habitat degradation that leads to endangerment. But with the efforts from Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), some of the species recovered and escaped form the red line.

The Eminence’s BIRUK ALEMU, collected and complied the data and current status of some of previously endangered wildlife species.

Sawyne’s Hartebeest Picture Source: www.ebc.et Location: Southern Danakil and the Rift Valley lakes region, on the Alledeghi plains east of Awash and the southern lakes of Ethiopia Population: 300-400 herds Walia Ibex Picture Source: www.apex-expeditions.com Location: In Simien Mountains National Park Population: In 1994-1996 200-250 animals, 500 in 2004 and currently it is growing Ethiopian Wolf Picture Source: www.arkive.org Location: north of the Great Rift Valley the Simien Mountains North Wollo, South Wollo Highlands and Menz and Arsi Population: 450 adults and sub-adults roughly

Bale Mountain Vervet Picture Source: www.500px.com Location: Bamboo forest zone of the Bale Mountains massif.

Population: Current population unknown

Yalden’s Desmomys Picture Source: www.planet-mammiferes.org Location: In humid afro-montane forest Population: Current population unknown

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Hospitality 3600: Facillity & Accomodation

Raising The Game In Regards to Venues In Ethiopia

Prodigy Communications and Events PLC, a company which was established five years ago, is engaged in communication works and organizing events. Even though it has been organizing events for the past five years it did not organized any large events that bring in international meeting attendants.

One of the major reasons for this the owners point out, is the lack of adequate venue space for meetings in the city.

“Because of the unavailability of ample venues for big events in Addis Ababa, we are obligated to cancel big deals,” says Beakal Fassil co-owner of Prodigy.

According to a data from the Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau (AACTB), the headquarters of the African Union’s (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are among the few venues that have large enough facilities and the ability to accommodate large international meetings.

In addition to the AU and ECA, of the 720 star rated hotels and the hotels that are not star rated, only few of them have conference venues with facilities that can fit the standards needed to host international meetings, according to Worku Mengesha public relations director at AACTB. This shortage of venues is happening throughout Addis Ababa, the city that is considered as the capital of Africa. Ethiopia

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Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Addis Ababa is becoming an increasingly popular destination for large international meetings that draw an enormous number of attendees. But event organizers mention some issues that inhibit them from bringing conference attendees to the country. One of their reasons is shortage of venues for large conferences. Against this background there are some promising moves to tackle this problem. The Eminence’s HENOK SOLOMON talks about the issues with industry players and presents some possible ways to address the shortage of large venues.

is ranked third behind Washington DC and Brussels with 120 embassies and diplomatic missions.

Additionally larger continental and international meetings, conferences and summits have been flocking to the city.

Even though the city’s venue shortage is visible, Addis has successfully hosted various international conferences and meetings in the past years. The city has been hosting the regular African Union Summit, Tana High Level Forum on Security in Africa, Africa Hotel Investment Forum, and most recently the United Nation’s third round Financing for Development meetings.

These events are most often held at the ECA’s and the AU’s conference centers and the star rated hotels which have limited capacity.

While ECA and AU serve the major events, the star rated hotels, including Ellily International Hotel, Intercontinental Addis Hotel, Capital Hotel and Spa, Radisson Blu, Hilton Addis and Sheraton Addis hotels have hosted smaller and medium events that accommodate fewer attendees than the upwards of 1,000 delegates who attend the larger events.

Observing the previous experiences Addis can accommodate the larger meetings based on the capacities of the existing venues. But what is being observed, is that the market demand for international conferences is

growing, prompting the city administration and private investors to focus on the development of additional venues and other facilities for the meeting industry.

Worku notes that the surge of international meetings that are coming to the city. “Over ten international conferences and meeting have been hosted in Addis Ababa every year in the past five years.”

Organizers of these meetings have raised several issues that they had to address while organizing the events. They claim that the only venues which can accommodate up to 6,000 attendees are ECA and AU. Sheraton Addis is an option with the accommodation capacity of 1,500 attendees, but the accommodation fees of the Sheraton is quite expensive.

In addition to the shortage of large venues in the city, other challenges that event organizers mention include problems with interpretation booths, availability of breakout session rooms, projectors, chairs and tables, stage setups, microphones and security mechanisms in the meeting halls at some of the hotels.

The problem of shortage of venues in Addis Ababa is recognized by the city administration, private investors and hoteliers. They are moving a step further to contribute their part of the solution. The four star hotel Intercontinental Addis

“Over 10 international meetings & conferences have been hosted in Addis Ababa every year for the past 5 years”

believe the conference tourism will also

recently constructed a meeting hall with the capacity of accommodating 2,000 attendees, fulfilling all the needs for conferences and meetings, according to its general manager Zenawi Mesfin .

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Not only are private investors working to solve the shortage of venues, but also the Addis Ababa City Administration is planning to construct a new conference center which meets international standards.

It has included the plan in the second phase of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). Along with the conference center the administration plans to build a museum displaying Addis Ababa’s history and the town’s rich culture and diverse heritage. The projects have a total budget of 13 billion birr and are expected to be completed within five years.

The conference center will cost 1 billion ETB; however, its location has not identified and the land has not yet been secured. The feasibility study of the center was made with a budget of 200,000 ETB, according to Worku.

The detailed design of the complex will be finalized by the end of June 2016, and a bid will be announced to hire a contractor, according to Ayalew Abey, general manager of the AAICEC. AAICEC has a total budget of three billion ETB and will be raising funds by selling 300,000 shares that are available to the general public with a share value at 1,000 ETB and a minimum share purchase amount of 25 shares. The share has been available for sale since 2014 but expected amount still has not been collected since most business people are not aware of the untapped potential of the meeting sector.

With all these promising factors the officials from the AACTB are optimist that Addis Ababa will be a major conference destination in the coming years. They

boost the earning from the tourism sector as attendees would visit Ethiopia’s cultural sites during their stay in the country.

Following the increase of meetings coming to Ethiopia the major venues on Addis Ababa including UNECA and AU are working in advancing their equipment and facilities.

“In the coming years we will follow in the footsteps of Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa in the conference tourism business,” Worku outlined.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

The other promising solution will be the Addis Africa International Convention and Exhibition Center (AAICEC), a shared company established with the main aim of constructing an international convention center. The center will be located at CMC area lying on a two hectares plot that incorporates an international convention center, shopping mall, multipurpose halls, international hotel and an exhibition center to be constructed in three phases and completed in the next three years.

For its part, the city’s culture and tourism bureau is planning to give trainings and periodical quality regulation works, especially in the tourist saturated areas and businesses. The office believes that this will support the growth of the industry aside from infrastructure development, according to Worku.

In addition, at a national level the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) is working on attracting investors to invest in the conference tourism sector, according to Gezahegne Abate, communication director at the MoCT. He further elaborated, “The government is trying to facilitate different welcoming opportunities to draw private investors’ attention to conference tourism on par with other strong sectors.”

But Zenawi of Intercontinental stresses that there is a need to focus equally on increasing the quantity of venues; quality of facilities of those venues should get the same special emphasis

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Hospitality 3600: E-Depth

Mulling over Convention Center : to Energize Meeting Industry Ethiopia?

Many countries are well known for their ability to exploiting the meeting industry, by putting convention management bureaus outside the country with the sole purpose of attracting potential visitors from the global market. Since Ethiopia lacks these infrastructures, many are claiming that establishing these bodies is necessary to support Ethiopia’s emerging meeting industry, while others believe that the endeavor is too costly for Ethiopia to establish and recommend that other options be pursued. The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA, discussed the topic with stakeholders and presents the debate.

Mulling over Convention Managment Bureau to Energize Meeting Industry

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Many countries are well known for their ability of exploiting the meeting industry, by putting convention management bureaus outside the country with the sole purpose of attracting potential visitors from the global market. Since Ethiopia lacks these infrastructures, many are claiming that establishing these bodies is necessary to support Ethiopia’s emerging meeting industry, while others believe that the endeavor is too costly for Ethiopia to establish and recommend other options to be pursueded. The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA, discussed the topic with stakeholders and presents the debate.

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ven if the number of tourists coming to the country is increasing each year, the share of conference tourists is still lower compared to leisure and business travelers.

During the last fiscal year of 2014/15 a total of 792,877 tourists came to Ethiopia for different purposes allowing the country to earn a revenue of 2.97 billion dollars from their spending. This figure is a substantial improvement of the 508,656 tourists who spent 442 million dollars in 2010/2011.

Out of the 792,877 tourists who flew in last year, only 73,885 of them came for conference, meetings, exhibitions and expos. The figure stands at only 9.3 percent of the total number. Leisure and business travelers dominated by accounting for the 271,922 and 148,997, respectively.

The major reason mentioned by industry insiders for the underperformance of Ethiopian conference tourism is the lack of a convention management center or bureaus outside the country. Such a center would be responsible to sell the positive image of the country, showing the potential what Ethiopia has to offer when hosting large

international meetings. This would help those engaged in the hospitality business to earn additional revenues.

One of the industry operators who is affected by the absence of a convention center is Experience Ethiopia Travel, a company which is engaged in the tour and travel industry. According to its marketing and tour manager, Muluberhan Berhane, the company is not working with conference travelers while they have the potential and interest in the business.

He claims that there is no way to get closer to conference attendants, so their only option is to wait until they are contacted by the tourists themselves or by the event organizers.

“This is mainly because of the unavailability of convention bureaus outside of the country. Countries which are known for hosting business meetings have at least one convention bureau outside of their home country to market their facility and their potential,” claims Muluberhan.

Not only tour operators but also hoteliers are feeling the absence of convention centers.

a convention bureau, rather she suggests that the country should consider other mechanisms of selling its image which are less costly.

The ETO, which recently was mandated to build and sell Ethiopia’s positive image, is not giving its major focus on establishing a convention center. According to Tseday the Organization is currently focusing on product development rather than marketing because tourist destinations should first be developed before promoting for market.

But there are other reasons for not having a convention center. The country’s ability to carry such big events which will be brought by the conventions is questionable.

Surprisingly most of the stakeholders agree that the country’s capacity to meet the demands of the meeting industry is small.

“As Ethiopia does not have any convention bureaus, many conferences are going to Tanzania, Egypt and Kenya,” said Fisseha Sahelle, executive secratary of Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Association board of director’s and General Manager of Empire Addis Hotel.

“Opening such offices is an easy task as they can operate inside the Ethiopian embassies located abroad,” explains Muluberhan.

Binyam Asrat, Stakeholders Relations Senior Expert at Ministry of Culture & Tourism (MoCT) agrees with Muluberhan saying, “Opening a convention bureau abroad does not require huge investments.”

According to Binyam the main reasons for not having a convention center includes lesser focus given towards the tourism industry especially for conference tourism and lower awareness within the industry in selling the country’s image.

“Previously agriculture and industry were the areas that had received priority by the government. When it comes to awareness by stakeholders, there was a time when the Ministry had to pay stakeholders in order to participate in international events,” Binyam said.

But Tseday Mekbib, Project Coordinator at Ethiopian Tourism Organization (ETO) disagrees with the idea of opening

According to Addis Alemayehou, CEO of 251 Communication, one of the event organizers, establishing a convention center is an expensive investment. “The country does not have a facility that is sufficient to accommodate bigger events that come through convention bureaus. Thus establishing such bureaus does not make sense,” he argues.

For Kumneger Teketel, managing director of Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group, capacity is not an issue for the country, claiming that many countries have benefited from business meeting with lesser facilities than Ethiopia. “When more meetings come, investors will work on expanding facilities,” he said.

Even if the stakeholders’ debate on the necessity of a convention center, the government and the tourism sector as well, are disadvantaged by the absence of a convention center in terms of revenues and an opportunity of building Ethiopia’s image.

It is an obvious fact that the country has been experiencing different kinds of events and occasions which give tourists a negative image toward the country. Convention centers could play a great role in changing perceptions of tourists.

But the absence of such bureaus not only limits tourists from getting up-to-date information about Ethiopia, it also blocks information about new products for stakeholders in the hospitality business.

According to Muluberhan, whenever tour and travel operators introduce new products there is no way to market them abroad. They have to use their own mechanisms and efforts.

This bears in the mind of someone asking who is currently selling Ethiopia’s image to the global market. Currently Ethiopia is working to attract meetings through diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When the country sends representatives to events held in foreign countries, the Ethiopian attendees lobby organisers to host the next meeting in Ethiopia.

This mechanism, according to Fisseha of Empire Addis Hotel, seems more advantageous since diplomats have better acceptance and influence than marketers, but it is disadvantageous since diplomats do not go to all events held outside the country. Marketers from the convention bureaus could easily attend all of the events so that the country would not miss any of the events.

Ethiopian Airlines offers another mechanism. The Airline, which has built its internationally-recognized brand, has about 99 ticket offices worldwide and just like an agent it sells packages for those who want to visit Ethiopia.

“This is easier and more cost effective than establishing convention offices since Ethiopian Airlines has many offices and also international acceptance,” Tseday from ETO argued, explaining that there is no need for a convention center.

The presence of convention bureaus has a direct impact on the increase in tourists visiting the country. Yet ETO and the MoCT still do not have a centralized body that acts as a convention bureau. The second Growth & Transformation Plan (GTP II) has not included an actual plan to establish a convention bureau. It is part of the longterm plan to consider the need of such a bureau. They plan to establish a department under ETO. In fact, since last year some private initiatives and efforts have been made to remind the government of the need to open a convention bureau. One of them was a study made by Ozzie Business and Hospitality Group with the cooperation of experts from the MoCT and ETO. The study indicates that Ethiopia is late to consider establishing a national convention center. It recommends setting up a convention center as a directorate under the ETO and then develop it into a separate commission. The study has been submitted to MoCT, since the fate of the proposal is so far unknown

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Cultural Panorama : Traveling Ethiopia

Supporting Regions to Tap into Conference Tourism

A meeting of one of the United Nations agencies held at Adama’s biggest venue Galma Abba Gada Conference Center

These days it is obvious that international meeting organizers are eying Ethiopia as a prime hosting country. But these meetings are mainly held in Addis Ababa, not moving to regional towns, which hinders them from benefiting from conference tourism.

The Eminence’s LUCY KASSA talked with event organizers, regional states representatives and Ministry of Culture and Tourism officials to explore why regional states are not hosting international conferences and what stakeholders are doing to change that.

Even if the history of international meetings held in Ethiopia is a long one since the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), later African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the country has not fully reaped the benefits of conference tourism as the number of meetings the country hosted has been limited. But recently it seems to be changing as many international conferences are coming to Ethiopia.

This can be substantiated by data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT).

During the 2011/12 fiscal year the number of tourists who came to Ethiopia for conferences was 57,578 and the number grew to 73,885 during the 2014/15 fiscal year. And since 2008 the number of tourists arriving in Ethiopia for conferences and meetings has been increasing by an average of nine percent every year.

From meetings recently held in Ethiopia, it is worth mentioning the Financing for Development’s (FFD3) meeting which was attended by over 6,000 heads of states, ministers, international governmental & non governmental

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organizations.

local and international events at WAFA.

The recent coffee conference had more than 900 attendees from 77 member countries of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), included coffee growers and representatives from governments, the private sector, and international agencies.

In addition to that, event organizers point towards transportation as another challenge.

In order to organize events at regional cities there should be a direct and secured flight to the cities. Otherwise it is inconvenient for attendees to come to Addis then fly to the regional cities. The recent good news is that the major regional cities such as Bahir Dar, Mekelle and Hawassa have restructured their capacity in their airports. Secured airport services with international flights obviously eases one of the difficulties to host conferences at regional cities.

But what was observed is that all the international conferences took place in the capital city, and the regional states have not benefited from the conferences. Event organizers such as 251 Communications and WAFA Marketing & Promotion PLC mention many reasons for this. They include limited capacities of the regions to handle large conferences, absence of airports at many regional towns, concentration of international organizations and media being based in Addis Ababa as among the major factors.

“It is very difficult to host international meetings like FFD3 in Mekelle as the city does not have enough standard hotels and sufficient meeting halls to serve such number of attendees,” noted Anteneh Kefelgn, head of

The concentration of international organizations, diplomatic missions and media organizations are in the capital is another challenge mentioned by the event organizers.

“When you get far from the capital you are far from the media as well. When you have to call a press conference you have to bring journalists to the regional cities at your own cost,” Addis Alemayhu, CEO of 251 told The Eminence.

“The number of conference tourists coming to Ethiopia is increasing by 9 percent annually”

rated hotels including Planet Hotel, Axum and Desta International Hotels. According to YemGedelu, Quality Assurance & Regulatory director at Tigary Culture and Tourism Agency, this progress is having positive impacts on the growth of conference tourism in the town.

“Previously only Hawlti Martyrs Monument’s Assembly Hall was hosting conferences. But this time Planet and Axum have the capacity to host international attendees with standard services,” Yemane told The Eminence.

www.addiszefen.com

According to Yemane, in the coming years the Region is planning to privatize some governmentowned hotels such as Aberaha Castle with an international brand and do an aggressive marketing campaign to attract international conferences. Nevertheless Mekelle still has no hotel that can host over 500 attendees, and its airport is not serving a direct flights but, efforts have been made recently to start direct flights.

EPRDEF meeting that was held in Mekele at Hawlti Martyrs Monument’s Assembly Hall in 201

Bringing international conferences not only benefits regional towns but the organizers as well.

According to Anteneh of WAFA, it is very easy to book hotels in the regional cities compared to hotels in Addis as hotels in regional towns require relatively little time to book reservations compared to Addis Ababa.

“If you want to book at the Millennium Hall, you must wait for months. But that does not apply for halls in Mekelle or Bahir Dar,” he added.

In terms of venues, regional cities are developing conference halls which can accommodate large groups of attendees. Galma Abba Gada Conference Center, which is located in Adama and Bahir Dar’s Mululaem Cultural Center are among them.

Another advantage is its cost effectiveness.

According to event organizers in Addis Ababa one may pay a minimum of 20,000 ETB to organize a press conference. But if a press conference is held in one of the regional cities, expenses would not go beyond 4,000 or 5,000 ETB. That is why event organizers such as 251 Communications are setting their eyes towards hosting conferences in the regional states. “We want to develop the trend of hosting events at regional cities first by shifting local conferences

outside the capital. It will give us experience and confidence,” Addis said.

Merging facilities in regional states play in the location of some conferences. The recent hotel grading at some of the regional cities and the efforts made by the regional states are bearing major contributions towards the shift.

Having six daily flights, Bahir Dar is now one of the regional cities with a promising future to host different international conferences in addition to the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa which brings African leaders and stakeholders together to engage and explore African-led security solutions, which has been held there for the past five consecutive years.

According to Haileyesus Filate, head of Amhara Culture & Tourism Bureau Public Relations and Promotions, to make the city a conference destination, the administration is helping private investors to construct international standard hotels in addition to the 15 existing international standard hotels.

During the recent Tana Forum which was held on April 16-17, 2016 most of the attendees landed in the city not from Addis Ababa rather directly from their home countries.

Enhancing hotel facilities in Mekele is also progressing well. Currently the town has 10 star

Infrastructure development is also taking place in the capital of the Southern Nations Nationalities People Region (SNNPR), Hawassa. Tewabech Hailu, Public Relations head of Southern Nations Nationalities People Region (SNNPR) believes the current infrastructural development of Hawassa, including hotels and an airport facility will bring more international conferences to the City.

In addition to efforts at the regional level, distributing international meetings in the regional states is included in second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II). So that the MoCT is thinking to establish a separate unit of the conference tourism desk at the national level to promote the potential of the country to offer conference tourism on par with the country being home for many diplomatic missions, better security, moderate weather condition, standard hotels and good infrastructure.

Government officials admit that focus towards regions in terms of conference tourism was very low. “There was no research based and organized evaluation system for conference tourists flowing to the regional states,” admitted Dagnachew Getnet, Statistics and Data Collection director at the MoCT. Tadele Jemal Public & International Relations senior expert at the MoCT shares Dagnachew’s views. But he attributes the reason is caused by lack of marketing campaigns by regional agencies to promote their cities for conference tourism.

Finally to solve this issue and to bring more international meetings to the regions, MoCT is providing training and conducting workshops on capacity building for regional states to enable them aggressively promote their towns. In addition, MoCT is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote the country for conference tourism internationally, according to Tadele

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ADVERTORIAL

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Interview

AMEX Working Towards Cashless Transactions in Ethiopia

Andrew Stewart, is Vice President and General Manager of Partner Card Services Turkey, Middle East and Africa at American Express. He was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the middle of April 2016 for the launching ceremony of the first American Express Cards (AMEX) in Ethiopia partnering with Dashen Bank S.C. AMEX, with over 120 million card members around the globe, launched Gold Debt and Green Debt Cards with Dashen. When AMEX cardholders make purchases their transactions will be processed and they’ll get their discounts. They are also be able to withdraw up to 100,000 birr at a time using those cards. These cards also enable foreign tourists to transact money in Ethiopia. The Eminence’s FASIKA TADESSE, sat down with Stewart to discuss what new features AMEX has brought to the Ethiopian banking industry and its effect for the Ethiopian hospitality and tourism industry.

Why did you choose to work with an Ethiopian Bank, specifically with Dashen Bank?

We have number of reasons to work with Dashen. To mention few, we both have common goals, commitment to quality of service and commitment to customer satisfaction.

And if we look at the AMEX brand in terms of trust, integrity and security, from the Ethiopian perspective, we feel Dashen is the best bank to work with.

As we know internationally, AMEX cardholders are big spenders. Do you see that the tourism sector of Ethiopia would benefit from the introduction of this card?

Of course it will. I believe we have to work aggressively with the Bank and Ethiopian Tourism’s key players on how we can attract the 120 million American Express card customers to Ethiopia.

And it does not have to be just tourism related area that cooperation must be established. It is

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obvious that there are large investments from multiple nations flowing into Ethiopia. For instance we can mention Turkish companies’ investment in Ethiopia.

There are also many other countries investing in Ethiopia and many of them are AMEX customers. So again it is an opportunity to bring valuable investments and foreign currency to the country.

But on the tourism side, historically we work very closely in partnership with a country. We promote destinations in African countries.

We pick the country and its geographic area and then we will promote the country if it is a global card member.

We have worked on this previously in Seychelles, Mauritius, South Africa and Dubai. Under this program we work with the top airlines and hotels and provide valuable benefits to encourage customers to visit those destinations.

What are your expectations from this partnership, in terms of number of cardholders

and commissions?

I think for me it is about how we expand the brand. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with a population of over 90 million. Dashen is a large bank with a number of customers.

This is an opportunity to offer AMEX to a very large segment of the population. We have many discussions with Dashen that are achievable. We have very lofty ambitions both from the number of customers to the spending using the cards.

Do you have some target figures to reach in terms of cardholders and annual spending estimation?

Unfortunately it is not something like I can disclose at this time.

Does AMEX has a budget to support Dashen Bank in terms of promoting the card in order to reach a large customer base?

We do. But it is obviously confidential. It is a contractual commitment with Dashen.

“We have to work aggressively with the Bank and Ethiopian Tourism’s key players on how we can attract the 120 million American Express card customers to Ethiopia.”

AMEX Gold and Green Card Owners Enjoy

60,000 25,000 15,000 1%

Andrew Stewart, Vice President and General Manager of Partner Card Services Turkey, and Africa at American Express Middle East

But there are two things. One, we provide a contractual marketing fund which we provide to Dashen Bank to invest in advertising and promotions and to invest in e-bank companies.

We will see if it is a right placement, and then we will provide additional finances to strengthen the partnership in the country.

Do you have a plan to work with other private and government banks in Ethiopia?

It is not part of our short or middle term strategic plan. We are very selective with whom we partner. We are very proud of the partnership with Dashen. We got the right partner. So, it is not part of our strategy to consider partnerships with other Ethiopian banks.

What are your expectations in the near future?

A few things, one is to grow the brand, to make the brand more accessible to Ethiopians, to get AMEX card into as many Ethiopian hands as possible, to drive electronic banking and move to digitalize cash in the economy as much as we can and to drive the country to a cashless society. We want the card to be used by Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sales (PoS) at supermarkets, cafeterias, hotels and other businesses.

The product has strong incentives to move people from cash towards using their cards because of the cashback discounts. And as I alluded to my expectation, over time we will work very closely with Dashen on agent and mobile banking services, working on product

propositions and many more business areas that we can explore.

What will be the exceptional advantages for AMEX cardholder rather than other international plastic cards?

There are three main advantages they will get. One is the selected program which offers customers to get discounts at retailers and stores. The other advantage is access to cash withdrawals. Normally cash withdraw amounts are limited in low amounts from ATMs and PoS. But AMEX users can withdraw high cash transaction values. The last one is the cashback benefit. If a cardholder puts much of their spending on plastic cards they would get cash back. And if we compared AMEX with other cards, they do not offer all these benefit packages.

How are you planning to encourage your international cardholders to use their cards in Ethiopia, a place that is a fast growing tourist destination?

Many things, part of these are national company destination referrals using different channels. You can see the world moving towards being digital so, we have access to many millions of our cardholders through their mobile devises, through mobile Apps, through e-mail channels, we have also created websites in many languages and we are promoting Ethiopian key tourist destinations, restaurants, hotels and other amenities.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Purchase per day (ETB) 100,000 Withdraw from bank (ETB) 50,000 Withdraw from ATM (ETB) 30,000 Cash back discount 1.5%

We will use different channels to promote the card to be used in Ethiopia. I think this is a valuable channel which would not possible be for Dashen to reach millions of customers as it would be very expensive to do that. Their partnership with us is a key advantage for Dashen and Ethiopia as well.

Are you working to enable Ethiopian AMEX cardholders to use their cards abroad? And when do you expect that will be happen?

That is a great question, but I do not know the sure answer. If we want the country to open the banking industry for foreign banks, we should work on lobbying activities for the central bank and the government of Ethiopia.

If you look in Ethiopian and other African nations it is quite normal. But European and American countries allow cards to be used abroad. I think this is because of concerns about exchange controls, and we can manage that by setting limits on transaction amounts and values abroad. So I believe it is a matter of time. If you ask me how long? I am not sure.

Are you talking with the central bank of Ethiopia in persuading them to consider this option of using the cards abroad?

Not so far, directly or through Dashen. But we will be more than happy to have discussions with the central bank if Dashen makes the request to the National Bank of Ethiopia

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centeral printing place

The EminenceEminence- Issue Issue 20 20 -- June June 2016 2016 52 The

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Cultural Panorama : History and Diplomacy

www.ifa.de.com

Conferences & Meetings Helping to Rebrand Ethiopia

African Head of States conference in May 1963 at the premises of the former OAU, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s modern history had been overshadowed with the negative images of drought, conflict and poverty. But now this narrative seems to be rewritten as the nation is making progress in its economy and diplomatic relations. International meetings are one of the platforms which have helped the country to shed its negative image. The Eminence’s HELINA ABRAHAM, looks into the progression of Ethiopia’s experience in hosting international meetings and conferences.

Ethiopia’s legacy of hosting international meetings has brought attendees from different countries, started with the idea of establishing an inter-African organization tasked towards alleviating Africa’s development challenges.

Since then it has expanded and Addis Ababa is fast becoming a hub for businesses, trade fairs, exhibitions, expos and other meetings.

Historians and recorded data confirm that the first international meeting that Addis Ababa hosted was on December 28, 1958 to announce the opening of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). It was established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) as one of the UN’s five regional commissions which is made up of the 54 African member nations.

At that conference every member state sent an official government delegation led by the Head of the National Statistical Office (NSO), representatives from countries outside Africa, United Nations agencies and others. At the time the UNECA provided a conference hall with a capacity of accommodating 547 individuals and had two languages (English and French) spoken by the panelists.

The second remarkable meeting was held in

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May 1963 at the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the late African Union (AU).

The meeting brought African nations together in spite of the regional, political and logistical dissimilarities. The meeting was attended by 32 African countries that had secured their independence.

Now Ethiopia is the political capital of Africa: the headquarters of AU and UNECA and home to 118 diplomatic missions accredited by the government of Ethiopia. This places Addis Ababa third among global capitals by the number of diplomatic missions next to Brussels (185) and Washington DC (176).

According to Ahmed Hassen (PhD), historian for the past 24 years and director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and Instructor of Commercial History at Addis Ababa University (AAU), those were the first steps for Addis Ababa to host international meetings.

With all these factors the number of international meetings the country is hosting, has increased over the past years. For instance the number of regional, continental and international meetings which the UNECA served in 2012 was only five, but the number has grown to 13, 30, and 36 in the years, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Even more during the first five months of the year 2016, the UNECA has hosted 22 meetings, according to its official website.

He reminisced that international conferences were being organized in Ethiopia since Haile Selassie’s regime. The themes of the conferences then focused on the Pan-African movement, freeing the rest of Africa from colonialism and collective peace and security.

The existence of the AU and UNECA headquarters along with many foreign diplomatic missions in Addis Ababa helped the country to follow an open door policy in developing relationship with other Africans.

This created frequent communication between Ethiopia and the rest of the continent, according to the historian.

The major conferences and meetings that were held in the country include the World Economic Forum (2012), the 50th Anniversary of OAUAU’s establishment (2013), The Power Africa Summit (2014), The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (2014 and 2015), The Africa Investment Forum (2014), The Economist Summit (2015) and Third Financing for Development (FFD3).

Tewolde Mulugeta, Spokesperson of Ministry

“Because of this, international conference organizers are choosing Ethiopia based on major criteria including relatively better infrastructure and facilities, a strong hospitality industry, and peace & security, which all are results of the country’s economic growth,” Tewolde told The Eminence.

Following the surge of international meetings coming to the country, the existing venues are upgrading their facilities. The UNECA currently has two main conference halls covering an area of 1,200 square meters each.

The halls can accommodate over 800 people each with six languages simultaneously being translated through a fully equipped interpretation system. In addition, it has one medium-sized conference hall with an area of 1,000 square meters that can accommodate 500 people and is equipped with a sixlanguage simultaneous interpretation system.

It also has four smaller conference rooms that can hold up to 115 seats, each covering 300 square meters and with a three-language simultaneous interpretation system.

On the other hand the AU has one large conference hall, two medium conference halls and four small conference halls (including

simultaneous translation booths). The conference halls can accommodate more than 2,500 meeting attendees at an event.

In addition to UNECA and AU, Capital Hotel and Spa, one of the 5 star hotels, has also expanded it facility to take part in hosting international meetings. According to Wegene Tadesse, Marketing Manager of the hotel, Capital attached its name with international meeting in 2013 when it hosted the AU’s 50 Year Anniversary. Since then it has served over 100 small, medium and large sized meetings.

Wegene stated that the hotel has about seven halls with accommodation facilities for 12 to 700 participants. He also added that the Hotel is planning to build a new hall that can accommodate 2,000 participants.

According to Tewolde, different ministries, academicians and researchers who participate in the meetings are always surprised at Ethiopia’s annual progress of improving by its capabilities to host more and larger conferences and events which helps in promoting the country.

“Due to these conferences we are rebranding our name as there are international media coverages, which are showcasing the country’s development and the opportunities for investment,” notes Tewolde.

Photo by: Frehiwot Gebrewold

Photo by: inhabitat.com

of Foreign Affairs, said that Ethiopia has become a hub for international conferences over the past 12 years and this is driven by the country’s rapid economic growth.

www.reuters.com

“

African Union Summit held in 2005 at the AU, Addis Ababa

in the past Ethiopia was known for being a war zone and a poverty-stricken country.

Presently, because of the peace, security and development in the country, the world is seeing a better Ethiopia and wants to be part of the development.

These meetings significantly contribute in diverse areas of the country’s development.

It is helping to build the image of the country and to strengthen the historical and diplomatic relations with the rest of Africa and the world.

It is creating enormous job opportunities, helping the hospitality industry and finally, assisting the economic growth of Ethiopia.

But some official data demonstrates that even if the country is a pioneer in hosting international meetings, the number of meetings that Ethiopia hosts should be improved. The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) 2015 statistics report states that Ethiopia stands 103rd out of 111th countries for the number of meetings it has hosted.

Ahmed confirmed this point by saying, “There are countries that organize better numbers of international meeting than us.” But he explains that Ethiopia is still on top for hosting key political affairs and annual summits for African heads of state and governments

As to Ethiopia’s image, Tewolde stated that

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Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Made in Ethiopia : Fashion

To get locally made traditional Ethiopian clothes, jewelry and souvenirs, it is advisable to visit one of the largest open air markets in Addis Ababa, Shiro Meda, which is the largest hub of traditional Ethiopian materials. The Eminence’s HELINA ABRAHAM, visited the place to explore what is available there.

If you come to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a visit, business or conference it worth stopping at Shiro Meda, one of the busiest and most vibrant market areas in Addis. It is a traditional clothes paradise located on Entoto Road. In the area you will find souvenir shops and shops that have traditional Ethiopian clothes worth taking a glimpse at.

Shiro Meda Market is located 11.5 kilometers from the airport. Visitors can take a taxi from the airport to Menelik II Avenue, onto Sidist Kilo, passing the US Embassy. If your starting point is United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), travel for 5.8 kilometers to reach Shiro Meda. On the other hand if your departure point is from Kazanches, which is becoming a hotel hub, you will travel 6.1 kilometers.

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Once you arrive, you will be surprised and amazed at the Ethiopian marketing trend which is interestingly instructive. When shopping, nearly every customer disagrees to the price the retailer offers at the beginning of the negotiation process. More often than not the purchase takes place after back and forth negotiations between the customer and the retailer.

In Shiro Meda you will uncover many different kinds of items including: Netela [one layer shawl with embroidered borders], traditional clothes from all over Ethiopia, Gabi [thicker shawl known as an Ethiopian blanket]; and pieces made from Shemma (a hand-woven cotton cloth), dresses, locally made tops, costumes, and many choices of jewelry, in addition to a wide assortment of contemporary arts and crafts.

Shiro Meda is a traditional market zone where hundreds of venders line up to sell different goods. This market zone has an excellent reputation for traditional Ethiopian wear and jewelry.

When walking into Shiro Meda you will see tourists, adults and children hustling and bustling. Some are negotiating, a few going from one vender to another to find better goods, while others have completed their purchases and are hurrying to leave the market.

For the most part though, the entire market is a congested mix and most of the stores do not even have specific names.

Seni Anure, is a 26 year old vendor who works in one of the stores at Shiro Meda. She has worked there for the past two years selling unique shawls, t-shits with pictures of the

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

The prices for the merchandise at Shiro Meda can range as low as 25 ETB to the highest at 5,000 ETB.

Colorful bracelets and key chains waiting for their buyers

former kings including Emperor Tewodros II and Haile Selassie, locally made necklaces, bracelets, traditional children clothes, handmade bags, locally made dresses, colorful key chains, locally made genuine leather wallets and other items.

She sells the children’s clothes from 250 to 600 ETB. These children clothes are from different ethnic groups. She also has close to 30 on-call customers.

Arguably the majority of the merchandise is focused on adult, especially women.

Children’s products aren’t put up for sell independently rather mixed with adult goods. Eskedar, however, focuses on selling children’s clothes. She claims selling children’s clothes is more profitable.

Photo by: Adot Design

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

The price Seni offers varies based on the type of products. She sells necklaces from 50 to 60 ETB, bracelets from 20 to 50 ETB, locally made wallets 100 ETB, and shawls that range between 80 and 120 ETB. The key chains have a price range of 20 to 25 ETB, t-shirts from 90 to 100 ETB, traditional children clothes are sold from 150 to 200 ETB, while traditional dresses sell for 200 ETB, and handmade bags have a price range of 100 to 200 ETB. Seni states that the majority of her customers are Ethiopians and Diasporas but she admits that tourists also step through her shop’s door.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Most people agree it is an exceptional place to buy a number of items or gifts in a short period of time. Shiro Meda is a market place where you can find plenty of souvenirs and locally made pieces in one place.

Abraham Moges, 21, owns a retail shop which has souvenirs and locally made artistic products in Shiro Meda. His shop has a more artistic vibe than other shops around. His store has a concentration of souvenirs made from wood, fiber and other goods with locally made fabrics. There are also different items to choose and to buy as souvenirs.

Seni’s shop decorated with ravishing souvenirs

The shops of Shiro Meda also offer magnificent traditional paintings, petite locally made drums, splendid sculptures, Mudaye (traditional woven small basket) and Sefed (traditionally woven straw dish that is used to hold popcorn) that make the shop appealing.

Abraham sells sculptures from 120 to 200 ETB, Sefed for 100 ETB, paintings for 250 ETB, ornamental drums for 120 ETB and Mudaye from 75 to 120 ETB. Abraham has anywhere from 10 to 15 pieces of each item except the paintings. He claims that no one has complained about the quality of the products.

Beyond the traditional clothes and souvenirs tourists will take to their home country, some shops exclusively offer traditional children’s clothes. Eskedar Demoze, who has been in the business for the past ten years, is one of them.

Eskedar sells exclusively-designed clothes made by her own weavers, so that noone cannot get similarly designed clothes at other shops.

Eskedar holds from 10 to 15 pieces of each type of children clothes. She explains her reason for selling children’s clothes as, “Most adults buy clothes for two or three holidays, and they don’t come back for more than two years. However, people buy children’s clothes more frequently for different events and celebrations, such as birthdays and baptism, in addition to other holidays.”

Unlike Eskedar, Ismael Elias exclusively sells ladies dresses which are locally called Habesha Kemis (ravishing, locally made cotton dresses). He offers dresses with diverse features such as long dresses with thin strip, some wider strip and others with long sleeves. He also sells Netela, traditional shawls which are outfitted with dresses from Central and Northern Ethiopia. Ismael sells clothes from 500 to 5000 ETB. He usually has few pieces on display and mostly holds specifically ordered clothes.

What makes Shiro Meda different from other markets that sell traditional Ethiopian clothes is that you can find many shops concentrated at a specific area which gives a vistor the advantage to find a variety of choices and allows to compare prices. Another advantage is that the many of the weavers live at Shiro Meda, while some of the clothes are brought in from Mekelle, Bahir Dar and Wello.

The prices for the merchandise can range as low as 25 ETB to the highest at 5,000 ETB. But what someone have to bear in mind that prices for most goods depend on the buyers’ bargaining ability and negotiating power

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Made in Ethiopia : Unique Ethiopia

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

Taeka Negest Beata Lemariam: Hidden Gem in Bustling Addis

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, was established 125 years ago. Even though the city has a short history, it has a tangible and intangible cultural heritage that attracts both local and international tourists. Among the cultural sites include a church that is almost a century old, Taeka Negest Beata Lemariam, mausoleum of Menilik П Church. The Eminence’s LUCK KASSA, visited the place to explore the church and presents this review.

It is hard to visualize a quiet and mesmerizing historical gem that lies in the heart of Kazanchis. The moment one crosses the threshold of the church the temperate and erratic weather condition so common in Addis Ababa is lost. This is mainly because the compound of the Taeka Negest Beata Lemariam Mausoleum of Menilik П Church is filled with a dense forest which has isolated the area from the weather extremes of the city.

The Church, which is casually called Beata, was built between 1918 and 1928 by Empress Zewditu to memorize her father, Menilik П on the 14th year anniversary of his death.

The construction was made using medieval age construction technology. This is evident from the symbols seen in each corners of the Church’s walls. There are symbols of M (representing Menilik) on the walls, unlike many other churches. In addition, unlike other churches, Beata’s top of dome is crowned with Menilik’s crown while other churches’ domes are crowned with crosses.

The Church lies on a 13,000 square meter plot of land in the middle of the city. It is located

58 The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

on a small hill on the right side of the National Palace of Ethiopia, where the Ethiopian Prime Minister resides. Within the Church’s compound, it is almost impossible to feel the intensity of the Addis Ababa sun as the tall, majestic century old trees have literally built a natural umbrella for the compound.

While this place is naturally endowed by itself, the church added a striking garden to it in 2014, according to the administrator of the church, Like Lekawnet Weldemarkos Gebrezgabiher (Like Lekawnet is a title given to clergyman by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church). Following this the church has been recognized by the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority.

There is no air pollution and noise in the area. In addition to its beauty and carefully conserved garden, its quietness makes the place a prime location for reading or leisure.

Inside the park, giant tortoises can be seen slowly crawling, giving the place a natural feeling.

A local tourist pays 10 ETB (0.5 dollar) entrance fee while foreigners pay 100 ETB (5

dollars) to support the Church’s earnings.

“Empress Zewditu selected the place because Menilik П used to pray in a small church (Kidane Mihret) at the site. This small church continues to give services.

At the beginning the Empress’s intention was to enlarge the temple from its existing one.

But she was told she might not see it finished as she was already old,” said Kesis Elias Nekeatibeb (Kesis is a title given for canon by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church) who works in the Church and knows the history of the church.

The architects of the church came from Germany, Japan and Greece. The construction materials, especially the stones, were brought from Kotebe area in Addis Ababa. Both the exterior and interior walls of the Church were built using stones. On its four gates there are sculptures of the Lion of Judah which are made from bronze and brought from Germany.

“It was difficult to find cement during that time so egg was used as mortar for the stone walls,” Deacon Teshome Hirko who is a guide

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele The remains of emperor Menlik rests in the marble made coffin

Inside Beata Church there is a museum and a smaller church. The interior of the church merges both religious and historical portraits.

The largest piece of art, painted by an unidentified German artist, placed at the left side of the walls depicts Emperor Menilik П at the Battle of Adwa, an exclusive battle in history where Africans were victorious against colonial aggression.

The other portrait is situated at the right side of Menilik П, portrays Menilik giving a key to his nephew Ras Mekonen, father of Emperor Haile Selassie, to imply his coronation of Harar. The third portrait in this room is that of the legendary Queen Sheba and King Solomon. And the fourth picture depicts Menilik П taking a crown from the hand of the Egyptian bishop Abune Mathews (his baptizer).

Not only are there portraits in the museum, there are also other treasures. A Russian silver painting of St. George (gift for Menilik) and Michelangelo’s original Madonna of the ark (painting of St. Mary versus Jesus), as the administration of the church claims.

Apart from these portraits other items which are found in the Church includes the ceremonial dresses of King Menilik П, Empress Taytu and Empress Zewditu, different household materials of the royal families and a drum made from silver, are among the items.

The special thing about this Church is that a mausoleum constructed from varnished stones is on the ground floor of the church.

The corner of the mausoleum houses the remains of Empress Taytu Butul (the wife of

Menilik П and the most influential women in Ethiopian History), Menilik П, and his daughter Empress Zewditu. A gift from the government of France to express grief on the death of Menilik П and the agreement of the Ethio-Djibouti railway project are also positioned in the walls above the coffins.

Before the remains of Taytu were moved to the Church, her remains were interred at the Entoto Mariam Church and Menliks was buried in another church in Addis Ababa. In the middle of this room an embroidery art displaying the corpse of Jesus in a glass coffin, before his resurrection is also found. This coffin was a gift for Empress Zewditu in 1929, donated a year before her death.

remains of Princess Tsehay Haile Selassie, the daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie is also housed here. Princess Tsehay was a nurse who first attempted to introduce child health service in Ethiopia. While the remains of the rest of her family are buried at St. Trinity Cathedral, Tsehay, who died at an early age due to maternal complications, is buried here because she died before the construction of the St. Trinity Cathedral. Moreover, the last remains of the Egyptian Bishop, Abune Mathews are found in this ground floor. Open for visitors to view, the coffins are made of marble and were skillfully designed in France.

Currently the Church is operating as a museum and it also offers religious services.

Considering the historical, social and economic contributions, this Church has given to the existing and to future generations, the Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau registered it as a heritage site in 2012.

There are 102 churches and two mosques around Addis Ababa which have received similar recognition from the Bureau. Once a registration is accomplished the next tasks of the Bureau is conservation and promotion.

Conservation work at Teaka Negest (Beata) has not yet started but it has been promoted only once.

Photo by: Sintayehu Bekele

at the Church told The Eminence.

An embroidery art displaying the corpse of Jesus in a glass coffin, which is a gift to Empress Zewditu

The said Michel Angelo’s Madonna of the ark, original painting.

In addition to the remains of these royals the

“We have promoted the Church with other heritage sites around the city in a 45 minute documentary film made in four languages and 3,000 copies distributed all over the world. But with regards to conservation work we always give priorities based on whether the sites are in an endangered condition. Relatively speaking, the Church currently is in good condition,” Worku Mengesha, public relations head at the Bureau, told The Eminence

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Refelictions: legal corner

How to Apply for Work Permit in Ethiopia

As any other nation to work in Ethiopia, every foreigner needs to have a work permit issued by a delegated government institution. The Eminence’s TSEWAYE MULUNEH, presents what procedures are expected to be fulfilled by foreigners in order to get work permits, where should they go, for what pay, and the duration of the permits and the details about the process of obtaining a work permit.

All non-Ethiopian citizens desiring to work in Ethiopia require a work permit issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affair.

This does not however apply to Ethiopians who possess other nationalities but have an Ethiopian Origin ID Card (yellow card); diplomats; staff of international missions, the African Union, the United Nation, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and International atomic Agency representatives.

Other than this all foreigners need to have a work permit to work in Ethiopia. To process one’s work permit the very first thing one must have is a business, employment, or investment visa upon entry.

The Ministry that process work permits for foreigners is the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) as stipulated in the labor proclamation of Ethiopia. In addition the Ethiopian Investment Commission also issues permits for foreigners who come in as foreign investors. The next step is to be hired by a company for your work permit to be processed by the Ministry.

60 The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

The process starts when the company that has hired you requests the special sector in which it works to write a letter for the Ministry.

For example, if you are hired as a teacher, the Ministry of Education needs to write a support letter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs ascertaining that you have the qualification and you are needed for the specific job.

Most of the ministries where requests for support letter for foreigners’ work permit are made are mostly from the Ministry of Health and the Charities and Societies Agency, which regulate nonprofit organizations.

The company will then request for the work permit on your behalf submitting all the necessary documents attached to MOLSA. When processing your work permit traveling family members such as your spouse and children can be considered as dependents and would not be eligible to work here in Ethiopia.

But here also you need to be aware of exception where the international organization that you

work in or countries will have an agreement with the Ethiopian Government for the dependent family member who moves here to work. A work permit will be given for up to three years but needs to be renewed every year.

Renewals can go up to 10 years if the person is a highly sought after skilled professional. Fee will be for issuance of a work permit 1,700 birr for renewal of a work permit 1,300 birr for replacement 1,000 birr.

Once an expatriate acquires a work permit from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs Office, it is possible to request for a residence permit from the Immigration and Nationality Affairs Main Department. The requirements to obtain a residence permit are an application letter requesting the permit, the appropriate and valid travel documents, visa, health certificate and other required documents and a fee of 400 birr.

Special thanks to Hailu Bekele foreign nationals work permit team coordinator, at Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

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62 The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

Food Recipe

Needed ingredients

2 cloves of crushed garlic 2 large red onions 2 teaspoons gingerroot, peeled 1⁄4 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon turmeric 2 tablespoons red pepper ½ kilo red lentil 4 cups water (or stock) Salt & pepper

forbiddenriceblog.com

Directions 1. Puree onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor or blender.

2. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir rapidly until the onion is cooked. Make sure that the onions are not burned.

3. Add the red pepper and cook for about 30 minutes 4. Add lentils and water and bring to a boil and simmer till lentils are cooked through and fall apart. This will take about 30-40 minutes.

5. When the consistency became of a thick paste take it out of the fire so that it can be scooped up with injera.

6. Stir in salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Misir Wot (Lentil Stew)

Sudoku

Tourist Corner Name: Jose Antonio Lopez Age: 63 years old I am From: Madrid, Spain I’ve been in Ethiopia for: 7 Months I am in Ethiopia because: To provide technical assistance for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation An Ethiopian Concept or way of thinking that you don’t understand: I found Ethiopian people very friendly for foreigners but I see that people afraid of saying what they think openly.

Something that has been hard to find here but easy to find in Madrid: some variety of foods and deserts in some restaurants there are some sweets but there is no custom of eating sweets after lunch or dinner. I missed that.

Something that has been easy to find here but hard to find in Madrid: The different ethnic groups the culture, the landscapes, the close contact with nature the volcanos and all that.

Your favorite thing about Ethiopia: Of course the people compared to other African countries the understanding of the people towards foreigners are much better and friendly.

Your least favorite thing about Ethiopia: The sanitation of toilets.

Your favorite Ethiopian Cuisine: Injera and Tibs and the fasting vegetable foods are my favorites.

Issue 20 - June 2016 -The Eminence

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Entertainment: Classified Best Halls in Addis Ababa Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Available Rooms: 12 Accommodates: From 30 - 500 People African Union (AU) Available Rooms: 40 Accommodates: From 35 -2, 500 People Sheraton Addis Hotel Available Rooms: 9 Accommodates: From 40 -450 People Hilton Addis Ababa Available Rooms: 8 Accommodates: From 20 -650 People Radission Blu Addis Ababa Available Rooms: 2 Accommodates: From 12 -120 People

Places for Retreat Kurifitu Resort & Spa Location: Bishoftu (Debrezeit) Things to do: Restaurant & Bar, Swimming, Kayaking, Spa, Rooms Kurifitu Resort & Spa Location: Bahir Dar Things to do: Restaurants, Rooms with Lake Tana View, Fireplace, Swimming, Spa Adulala Resort Location: Bishoftu (Debrezeit) Things to do: Restaurants & bar, Spa & Gym, Bungalows, Horse riding, fishing at Babo Gaya Lake & much more African Vacation Club Location: Langanoo Things to do: Restaurant & bar, Swimming, Kayaking, Spa, Rooms, Horse ridding, Game Zone and Different Beach Games Yaya Village Location: Sululeta Things to do: Restaurant & bar, Horse Riding, Rooms & High Attitude training Liesake Resort and Spa Avanti Blue Nile Hotel Location: Bahir Dar Things to do: Bar and Restaurant, Rooms with overall city view, massage

Immerse yourself in Ethiopian Music and Dance Fendika Location: Kazanchis Time: from 7:00 PM- Mid night 2000 Habesha Location: Bole Time: from 7:00 PM- Mid night

What to see in Addis Ababa?

Holy Trinity Cathedral Location: Arat Kilo

Beautiful Scenic and Wildlife in Ethiopia

National Museum Location: Amist Kilo

Ethiopian traditional clothes and jewelry market Location: Shiro Meda Panoramic view of Addis from Entoto Location: Entoto

Hangout Spots Edna Mall/ Bob and Bongos Things to do: Watch box office movies, Skating, basket ball, cafés, 7D movies Lafto Mall Things to do: Read your favorite books & enjoy hot drinks Balageru Coffee Things to do: Read your favorite books & enjoy hot drinks Bilos Café Things to do: Some of the best pastries in town

Night Life in Addis Gaslight Night Club Location: Sheraton Addis Club Illusion Location: Next to Ambassador Theater Black Rose Location: On Boston Building Champion Bar Location: On Boston Building Liquid Lounge Location: Next to Intercontinental Addis Hotel Club H2O Location: On Yolly Building, “Chichiniya” Suba Lounge Location: Wollo Sefer on Ethio-China road Gravity Lounge Location: Next to Bole Medihanialem Church Fendika Club Location: Kasanchis

Ethiopian Korean War Veterans Association Location: Afincho Ber The largest open market in Africa Location: Merkato The gold jewelry market Location: Piassa

64 The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

Al Mendi Location: Meskel Flower Specialty: Arabian Restaurants

Four Seasons Location: Bisrat Gabriel Specialty: Japanese, Thai and Indian

Ethnological Museum Location: Sidist Kilo Park (Anebesa Gebi) Location: Sidist Kilo

International Cuisines in Addis

Caribo Resturants Location: Mekinisa Specialty: Caribbean and African cuisine Simien Mountains National Park Location: Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region Some of the animals that can be found: Gelada baboon, Simien fox & Walia Ibex Nechisar National Park Location: SNNPR Some of the animals that can be found: Burchell’s Zebra, Grant’s gazelle, Guenther’s Dik-dik, Anubis Baboon & Grey Duiker.

Awash National Park Location: Southern part of Afar Region and northeastern of Oromia Region Some of the animals that can be found: Beisa oryx, Hamadryas Swaync’s Hartebeet Omo National Park Location: SNNPR Some of the animals that can be found: Burchell’s Zebra, Gerenuk & Kudu Mago National Park Location: SNNPR Some of the animals that can be found: buffalo, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, hartebeest, leopard, lion and zebra

Bale Mountains National Park Location: Oromia Region Some of the animals that can be found: Topi, Lelwel Hartebeest, Bustards, Hornbills, Weavers & Starlings

Castelli Location: Piassa Specialty: Italian Restaurant Chez Fasil Restaurant and Bar Location: Meskel Flower Specialty: Specialized in Nouvelle & Fusion Cuisine German Restaurant Location: Near Japan Embassy Specialty: German food and beer Kuriftu Diplomat Restaurant Location: On Boston Building Specialty: “The ultimate global cuisine” Hahn Khuh Restaurant Location: Atlas Specialty: Korean Aladdin Location: Near Japan Embassy Specialty: Middle Eastern

Some of the best Coffee house Tomoca Coffee Abissiynia Coffee Alem Bunna

Gambella National Park Location: Gambella Region Some of the animals that can be found: Nile Lechwe,White-Eared Kob, Roan Antelope, and Whaleheaded Stork Abijatta-Shalla Lakes National Park Location: Oromia Region Some of the animals that can be found: Great White Pelicans and Flamingo Yangudi Rassa National Park Location: Afar Region Some of the animals that can be found: Beisa Oryx, Dorcas gazelle, gerenuk and Gravy’s zebra

Your Home Away from Home for Your Extended Stay Beer Garden Inn (Guest House) Total Rooms: 21 Location: Bole Medhanialem Road near Edna mall GT Guest House (Guest House) Total Rooms: 13 Location: Kirkos kifle ketema, 200m in from Dashen Bank on Sierra Leone Street Yeka Guest House (Guest House) Total Rooms: 14 Location: British Embassy across the street from the Bio-Diversity Institute Addis Guest House (Guest House) Total Rooms: 12 Location: Bole road 5 minutes from Bole International Airport

“Please let it be noted neither the editorial team nor the company is liable for any errors or mistakes on the sources of information. The list is in no specific order”.

PHONE SERVICE Toll Free Information Service Federal Police Commission National Operator Fault Report Dial Up Internet Pre Paid Mobile Service/Bill Inquiry/Lost Mobile Registration/ Number Change Information Broad Band Customer Service PSTN Service Voice Mail

PRIVATE HOSPITALS 997 916 998 994 900 994 980 980 908

COURRIER SERVICE DHL EMS(Ethiopia) Federal Express TNT Skypok UPS Trans Express Ethiopia

011 662 16 00 011 515 20 72 011 618 63 83 011 551 41 54 011 662 13 09 011 551 41 54

UN United Nations Development Program United Nations Children Education Fund United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

011 663 35 82 011 518 40 00 011 551 72 00

BANK Abay Bank Addis International Bank Awash International Bank Bank of Abyssina Berhan International Bank Buna International Bank Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) Construction and Business Bank Cooperative Bank of Oromia Dashen Bank Debub Global Bank Development Bank of Ethiopia Enat Bank Lion International Bank Nib International Bank Oromia International Bank United Bank Wegagen Bank Zemen Bank

011 552 88 51 011 557 0502 011 557 00 00 011 551 41 30 011 618 57 32 011 158 08 67 011 122 87 55 011 551 23 00 011 552 27 59 011 467 18 03 011 467 40 87 011 551 11 88 011 550 49 48 011 662 60 00 011 550 32 88 011 557 21 13 011 465 52 22 011 552 38 00 011 550 11 11

AIRLINES British Midland (BMI) Egypt Air Ethiopian Airlines Emirates Kenya Airways K.L.M Royal Dutch Lufthansa Saudi Airline Yemen Airways

011 665 04 94 011 156 44 93 011 665 66 66 011 518 18 18 011 551 42 58 011 552 55 41 011 551 56 66 011 663 81 37 011 551 50 76

FIRE BRIGADE Station Menilik II square Station Addisu Kera Station Mekanisa Station Nifas Silk Station Akaki Station Megenagna Station Bole

011 156 70 40 011 466 34 20 011 276 91 46 011 442 55 63 011 434 00 96 011 663 03 73 011 664 85 80

POLICE STATION Police Information Federal Police Commission AA Police Commission

Addis Cardiac Hospital Addis Hiwot Hospital Bete Zata Hospital Landmark Hospital Hayat Hospital Kadisco Hospital Broad Band Customer Service PSTN Service Voice Mail

011 663 47 20 011 618 04 49 011 551 41 41 011 552 62 29 011 662 44 88 011 629 89 04 980 980 908

COURRIER SERVICE DHL EMS(Ethiopia) Federal Express TNT Skypok UPS Trans Express Ethiopia

011 662 16 00 011 515 20 72 011 618 63 83 011 551 41 54 011 662 13 09 011 551 41 54

PUBLIC Hospitals Black Lion (Tikur Anbessa) Hospital Menilik II Hospital Ras Desta Hospital

011 551 12 11 011 123 42 72 011 155 33 99

LIBRARY Academy of Ethiopian Languages Addis Ababa Municipality Library Alliance Ethio-Française British Council Economic Commission for Africa library German Cultural Institute Italian Cultural Institute J.F Kennedy (A.A.U) National Libraries & Archives

011 551 59 26 011 155 01 11 011 155 02 13 011 155 00 22 011 551 72 00 011 155 28 88 011 111 34 27 011 111 04 33 011 551 62 47

ART GALLERY Asni Gallery Ersas Art Studio Goshu Art Gallery Gigi’s Afro Asian Design& Fine Interiors Makush Gallery

011 123 32 44 0913 66 02 30 011 661 03 97 0912 20 43 37 011 552 68 48

Sudoku Answer

TOUR AND TRAVEL Eminence Social Entrepreneurs Koreb Tour Operators Kibran Tours Plc Rainbow Car Rental and Tour Services

011 823 71 82 011 662 3179 011 662 62 14 011 371 79 40

PHARMACY Abader Pharmacy Bata Pharmacy Ethio German Pharmacy

011 662 43 97 011 655 21 34 0911 20 94 88

ONLINE CLASSIFIED 2 Merkato Latest Ethiopian Tenders and Bids Buy and Sell ( Ethiopia) Gulit Online Market Mekina Online Car Market Kaymu Whats Out Addis?

www.2merkatos/ tenders buysellethio.com wwww.gulit.com www.mekina.ney et.kaymu.com Whatsoutaddis.com

991 916 011 157 21 21

Issue 20 - June 2016 -The Eminence

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66 The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016

Tad Tylo Trading Steam and Sauna Jacuzzi Swimming Pool

Bole Road, Alem building 1st Floor, Suite 102 Mob: +251911522920/ +251911203566 www.tad-trading.com Issue 20 - June 2016 -The Eminence

67

Phone : +251 115 158278 / 507074 Fax : +251 115 151338 / 504948 P.O.Box: 18401, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Address: Kirkos sub-city, woreda 8, in front of Yordanos Hotel.

Email: info@enatbanksc.com SWIFT Code: ENATETAA

68 The Eminence- Issue 20 - June 2016