BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
Right after completing high school, Belayneh Kinde went to Hurso Military Training Center in 1980 EC and served his country as a soldier and became a sergeant. He was one of the Derg army members who attended the rehabilitation training after the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Front controlled the country.
Following the termination of monthly salary, he passed through various ups and downs in order to get his daily meal. In those days, he had been working as a daily laborer and gained four Birr per day. He was also hired in Kokeb Mill Factory receiving a monthly salary of 75 Birr. The unforgettable challenges he went through made him strong and helped him to be a successful investor.
Belayneh’s mother used to trade on coffee which she began with the initial capital of 10,000 Birr at hometown. She came to Addis in search of Belayneh from Gojam, Amhara State to Addis Ababa she advised him to return home.
He accepted her advice and went to countryside together with his mother and borrowed 10,000 Birr from her as seed money. Then he bought scale and other equipment decisive for a trader. He then became a trader. He brought honey, butter and other materials from Gojjam and sold for merchants and beneficiaries in Addis. On his return, he took industrial products and medicines needed by the farmers.
As time went by, his capital increased and he borrowed 30,000 Birr from a bank. Through time, his total capital reached 300,000 Birr. He then bought a public transporting bus with capacity of 45 people by 180,000 Birr.
However, he could not get the expected profit as the bus repeatedly required maintenance. This is the reason Belayneh turned his face to Addis Ababa. He then rented a warehouse to further strengthen butter and honey trading. Later on, his business grew to exporting pulses with his friends.
Through this process, he established a company called Belayneh Kinde Import and Export. In 2001 EC, he ranked second in exporting sesame. With this, the company has been getting broader acceptance locally and internationally. Apart from being engaged in the transport sector, Belayneh is also investing in hotel and tourism sector. He owns Construction Company as well.
These days, the company is engaged in the agriculture and manufacturing sector so as to contribute its share in the nation building effort. The company has now created 3000 job opportunities to citizens.
Recently, he inaugurated food oil factory in Bure town of Amhara State with a total investment capital of 4.5 billion Birr. The Ethiopian Press Agency had a stay with Belayneh Kinde to share his life experiences and future plan to its esteemed readers: Excerpts:
What is the secret behind your successes?
A human being can reach a greater stage beginning from a scratch. The secret behind this is working diligently. We have been toiled for the past 29 years without any hesitation. I can confidently say that I have been sharing the culture of workers of the company in general and the management staff in particular. We gained success through working industriously.
What do you do to promote your organization?
You can get many things while you are working in collaboration with others. In trade, there are sellers and buyers. Trust is the fundamental one. We buy input products from farmers and semi-pastoralists. Before the existence of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, we were making trade exchange by trusting one another.
If the buyer or seller has faced shortage of money to buy a certain product, they exchange goods and services by trust. Farmers and traders witnessed the aforesaid fact is true. Some of them requested us to search the market for them especially at times when the price of agricultural products such as sesame dropped.
The government trusted us. In the history of Ethiopia, we are the only company by exporting numerous goods. For instance in 2005, we supplied one million quintals of maize to Italy’s market. This is unthinkable without an accelerated logistic service system. We built trust with governments, companies and farmers. And we are striving to build a good image of the country.
It is obvious that the oil factory built at Bure town had been facing various challenges. How did your company address them?
The peculiar feature of the company management and workers is toiling diligently. Apart from that we have excellent relations with banks, government and private institutions. This helped us to finalize the project without any delay.
The government is committed to solve the shortage of food oil in the country. Taking this into consideration, our company has been committed to realize the project since the beginning of the project.
The shortage of edible oil encouraged us to collaboratively work for the realization of the project. Foreign investors, who are profit oriented, don’t want to contribute something that improves the livelihood of the public. As it is a mega project, we had faced various challenges especially over the last six months and we had a persistent stance to complete the task through addressing various problems.
With a total of 110 million people, Ethiopia has one edible oil factory which filters 50
tons of oil. When we compare this with the neighboring countries, we can say that Ethiopia had no edible oil company before. That is why we are highly dependent on exported food oils as local companies have not been producing with the desired quality and quantity.
When the project was started, the company was established as a joint venture company and worked for two solid years; but it did not continue due to the challenges it had encountered.
Shortage of electricity, capital, infrastructure development and etc were some of the challenges encountered.
As we committed ourselves to realize the factory, nothing blocked us from finalizing the project. Parallel to this, the company is performing various agricultural activities so as to produce edible oil in the country.
Would you explain to our readers how much capital you have?
It is difficult to put it in figure. However we can see the capital sector wise. Import and export trade, manufacturing, hotel and tourism, transport and constructions are some of the areas our company is engaged in.
We are approaching investment by minimizing trade activities. Our company’s yearly sales have reached three billion Birr. The company has 110 trucks to transport only food oil and sewerages. Golden public bus has 35 buses besides various tasks being done to assemble these cars with local capacity.
We also have numerous machines and irrigable lands in various places such as Jawi Zone of Amhara and Benishangul State. We have another car assembly factory in Gelan town. There are also hotels in Addis Ababa, Adama and Bahirdar.
An investor is measured by his/her capability of creating small businesses, would you brief the role played in this regard?
The edible oil factory constructed in Bure costs 4.5 billion Birr. Some investors try to escalate the total project cost when asked about their investment but I did not like that. We built seven factories in one place. Understanding that it is the wealth of the nation, we have been doing all the projects with greater responsibilities. We believed that all the projects will create model entrepreneurs. So far, some 12 people who served in the companies have now opened their own businesses and created jobs for many citizens. Some others are competing with us and are engaged in similar businesses. This by itself makes me happy as they are creating their own model.
How is your company remain competitive with others? Would you brief how your organization joins international markets?
Good name is not suppressed. As our esteemed customers trusted us, we always care for them and do not supply low quality goods. In import and export, the very critical point is providing quality goods considering your contending traders in the market. We have no intention to change our promises. We need to maintain our brand built in the mind of our customers. That is how we broke the international market and maintained our statuesque.
Now we have joined the manufacturing sector. Previously we imported vehicles, but we have transferred to importing spare parts and we assemble them. And we used to export roasted sesame but now we produce edible oil and supply it to the local market.
Palm oil was considered as hazardous to human health as it contains a huge amount of fatty acid. Considering this, our company provides palm oil minimizing its fatty acid. At this critical juncture, we turned our face to the manufacturing sector to discharge our responsibility in creating jobs for many citizens and addressing socio economic problems observed in the country.
We heard that the company has paid additional compensation fee to farmers relocated to other places. What triggers you to do that?
If you have a desire to stay long in the market, your company should work in hand and glove manner with the people residing in the area. When I chose Bure town for investment, my primary objective was to make the community beneficial from the project and gain something by contributing my share in the country’s development.
At the first place, I received land which is not occupied by farmers, but later on the design of the factory claimed additional plots of land which was previously occupied by farmers in the area. When we deliberated it to the officials, the farmers have been hearing us. The farmers then approached us and said we can elongate the compensation payment date.
I was amazed although I had already paid additional compensation for 19 farmers. I believed that the farmers should not be displaced from their areas for the sake of development. Now, we are trying to change the livelihood of the community through hiring their children in the factory.
There are some rumors that the factory will have a threat due to shortage of inputs and other raw materials. If it is true, how will you manage it?
The factory will have a capacity of producing 1500 tons of edible oil or 1.5 million liters. For this, the factory requires 20 million quintals of pulses. However, the country produces pulses that do not exceed three million quintals per year. We have a plan to work together with farmers so as to fulfill the desired pulse. Now we import crude palm oil from Ukraine and Malaysia. We will supply edible oil at a reasonable price using state-of-the-art equipment. This is by itself a progress.
In the coming years, we will work with the government so as to produce raw inputs and crude palm oil. So as to realize the plan, the company has received 10,000 hectares of land from Benishanguel Gumuz State and promising tasks have been performed. In doing so, we will come out of a vicious circle of poverty within a short span of time.
Some people say that investors always raise nonstop inquiries concerning land allocation. Would you say a few points on the issue?
Getting a plot of land is a question raised by many people. Some investors are seeking the land to gain loan from banks and engage themselves in other businesses instead of investing on the necessary development on the land.
In my opinion, those who are going in the wrong direction are now dismantled once and for all. Now, there are some greedy people who are not thinking beyond their family. This sort of perception is dangerous and should be rectified for the benefit of the public at large. Unless an investor supports the poor, the building he/she builds will be a threat for him, one day the poor who cannot get its daily needs dismantles it out.
Mostly, you provide support to development activities. Why do you do that?
I want to put my finger print on the development activities held in the country. I already bought some 33 million Birr worth bonds for the realization of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. I have been coordinating investors to support the dam.
Let alone providing support for the GERD, I am ready to sacrifice myself for it. I have also spent some 35 million Birr to support both Dine for Shegger and Dine for Ethiopia projects which are initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahemed. We also provide support to the displaced people. We will sustainably contribute our share for the realization of a mega development project which will be launched in the future.
Is there any support gained from the government side? If so, how do you express it?
To be frank, the government has been providing various supports to my company. I am a hard worker and I am engaged in the manufacturing sector which the country needs the most. Thus, the government provides hard currency, land and import machineries free of taxation. By and large, I am one among many investors who have a healthy relation with the government.
If you want to convey a message, the floor is open for you?
Our society is poor. What makes me upset is that we are sleeping on the gold. There are some groups who are toiling with our strategic enemies who want us not to be stable and exploit the untapped resources. We have to struggle with them until we will be victorious.
There are also policy misconceptions that should be cleared or removed. Taking lessons from other countries, we have to work harder in all respects. The investors, on their part, should be committed and work aggressively until we ensure progress in all aspects.
China and Turkey aggressively are working in order to attract investment which is an engine for an economy. Investors should not be prohibited from investing in areas they wanted to invest in. He/ she should not be marginalized because he/she belonged to a certain ethnic group. The land should be prearranged for an investor who creates jobs and contributes to the economy. All of us should encourage others who show something important and facilitate an opportunity for them until they are successful.
Our natural and historical wealth are not still exploited. If the economy of the country grows steadily, our political and social life would be stable. The zone we reside in is conducive for agriculture, mining, tourism and others. What is expected from us is patience, tolerance. We are rich in terms of resources; if we work harder, we can get the capital. However, we have to use the resources properly. We have to put our country on the front line rather than opening doors for bribers.
The Ethiopian Herald 9 February 2021
