BY HIZKEL HAILU
Bezawit Admasu is a founder and General Manager of FreelanSira. She is among the 17 entrepreneurs that The FDRE Job Creation Commission (JCC) has graduated this month in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program – UNDP and the Center for African Leadership Studies (CALS)/ x Hub. She is also among the 17 who have awarded a seed funding of USD 5,000.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Bezawit said that she has started this business with an initial investment capital of ETB 110,000. Being thankful for the xHub, JCC and UNDP, she stated that this investment will create job opportunity for more than hundred thousand citizens by the coming five years.
“FreelanSira is an online platform, website and mobile app with a database of professional freelancers making them easily accessed by clients. It will have contracts with HR companies to get clients through financial institutions, get online payment services, training institutions, and give training to our staff and clients,” she explained.
As to her, her business solves the lack of interactive online freelance job platform; solves the challenges of organizations in temporary jobs filling; challenges of getting efficient deliverables (Task Management); absence of categorized and detailed freelancer profile; challenges of retired professionals and stay-at-home professional moms to make income from where ever they are.
Similarly, Kalkidan Tadess and Wubit Tadesse founder and co-founder of Happy Bio-Degradable Sanitary pads are also the graduate entrepreneurs. They accentuated: “With an initial investment of 43 million ETB, our startup will create more than six thousand job opportunities for Ethiopians with in the coming three years.”
According to them, the situation that they have suffered in their campass life has led them to create their own job which has also a benefit for others. Happy Biodegradable Sanitary Pad is an Ethiopian-based social enterprise aiming to create low-cost hygiene products from banana fiber or false banana (ENSET) that is only cultivated in Ethiopia, they stated.
For years, women have resorted to using rags and clothes during their menstruation period, which leads to infections and does not provide proper protection. Without proper protection, women struggle to carry out their normal activities such as work and school. Conventional pads use chemicals that are very strong because they are trying to absorb fluid as much as possible.
Also the chemical sodium polyacrylate can cause cervical cancer from the long- term use of these pads. They solve this by manufacturing fully organic, chemical and plastic-free sanitary pads that are affordable and 100 percent biodegradable within 6 months of disposal.
Noting that their business has both social and economic benefit, they call domestic and foreign companies and individuals who are ready to work in partner with them. “The 5,000 USD award will also awaken us to work more effectively,” entrepreneurs pointed out
It was to be recalled JCC in collaboration with UNDP and x-Hub Addis, has graduated 17 youth-led businesses that they have trained for four months. The youths are among the participants in the Empowering Digitalizing Globalized for Ethiopia Transformation program, which was launched in 2019/20 and is part of a multi-stakeholder program called “AHUN” which sets out the criteria for youth entrepreneurship.
Tewodros Tadesse, founder and CEO of CALs/xHub Addis mentioned that despite 755 youth entrepreneurs were registered and submitted their business ideas during the call to start the process, 17 of them have been graduated that fulfilled the different criteria. As to him, the scope, affordability, innovativeness of the startups was among the criteria provided for selecting the best 17, he stated.
He further elucidated that beyond the four months training they received during their stay and the opportunities created for them, they were provided with financial support so that they could start their careers coupled with the skills provided by providing various trainings. The youths have involved in various fields, including ICT, and are engaged in manufacturing, health, transportation, agriculture, and the arts and entertainment. During their four-month stay, experienced professionals in the field shared their experiences, he added.
On the graduation and seed funding ceremony of Ahun incubation program for digital entrepreneurs, UNDP Representative and Guest of Honor Turhan Saleh, applaud all those who have contributed to the success of the youth and said that the UNDP will support the Job Creation Commissions commitment in achieving its goal of digital entrepreneurship by 2025. Mentioning that the UNDP will also support this program permanently, he further said the program will help to create conducive environment for Ethiopian entrepreneurs in Ethiopia.
Similarly, in his message to the graduates, Nigusu Tilahun, Commissioner of JCC, said the Commission will continue to support youths who are successful with less support and urged those who have the opportunity to be more useful to themselves and their country and create jobs for others.
Being thankful for development partners and private sectors like UNDP and xHub Addis who are dedicatedly working in filling the government’s gap in increasing the national economy, he underscored that this program will help the country to strengthen its potential in running the digital technology apart from providing economic significance. The graduated students also promised to create more job opportunities for many Ethiopians with their seed funding that they have received during their day of graduation.
Meanwhile, with a mission to drive job creation through innovation and action, the JCC aims to facilitate the creation of 3 million jobs by 2020, 14 million by 2025 and 20 million by 2030. In this regard the commission has created 3,457,988 jobs opportunity by the last Ethiopian fiscal year of which agriculture, industry, and service cover 29, 30 and 40 percent respectively.
The commission has also planned to create 3,104,518 jobs opportunity at the national level by the current Ethiopian fiscal year. Its plan includes creating 1,335,347 in agriculture, 857,522 in industry 816,648 in service sectors and 95,000 in foreign job opportunities.
On her welcoming speech on the Joint Forum of the Federal and Regional Job Creation offices on the performance evaluation of 2020/21 fiscal year and the 2021/22 plan this month at Bahr Dar, Mulunesh Abebe (PhD), Deputy Head of the Social Cluster Coordinator and Head of the Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs of the Amhara Regional State said: “The creative work we are doing is different and more effective than the previous years.”
She further stated that it needs more cooperation and hard work for achieving the current years plan as the time demands effectiveness. Mentioning that more than 18,000 enterprises have been destroyed in various conflicts following the brutal act of the terrorist TPLF, she pledged the large community and private partners to work in unison with the government to bring national economic growth using job creation as one of the parameters.
Nigusu Tilahun, on his part said the plan to create three million jobs last year has been achieved with the cooperative work done by the government and the private partners as well. He said the annual forum is aimed at correcting the shortcomings, adding that the next step will be to create jobs for more than three million people from the annual plan coupled with supporting the enterprises destroyed by war and conflict.
He also elucidated that the plan will be revised in order to benefit more than 43,000 Ethiopian citizens who are repatriated from the Middle East. Applauding the successful accomplishment achieved during the last fiscal year in line with the impact of COVID-19, the commission calls for all the stake holders to actively participate for the better performance of the sector.
On the whole, the commission in particular and the government of Ethiopia in general are focusing on job creation through making it as one of the best parameters for the national economic growth amid COVID-19. Therefore, the commission is also ready to appreciating entrepreneurs those are creating more jobs, officials agreed.
The Ethiopian Herald September 30/2021
