The inventor and innovator Shehab Suleyman is founder and CEO of Urjiin, a local electric motorcycle assembling company in Ethiopia.
Shehab is a mastermind with a lot of innovational ideas in his backpack. He started inventing things since he was 11. He is in his early 20s now. Shehab gifted with a creative knack started realizing his dream of changing his ideas in to products. Shehab has inventions in electronics, automotive, robotics, software development among others.
A couple of years back, Shehab designed and assembled a car which he named “Taytan”. Taytan, according to Shehab, was designed for public transportation with a ferrying capacity of eight people. But, to put it up for sale, Taytan faced financial constraints and Shehab decided to hold Taytan’s mass production for the time being and turned his face to other products.
Shehab has a dream of becoming one among well-known technology companies’ owners in Ethiopia and beyond. Currently, Shehab is working on three technology sectors: mobile application development, automotive industry and electronics mainly producing mobile phones. The mobile applications for different purposes and production of an electric motorcycle are atop his current works, while he has continued his efforts to realize his vision of producing a car and a mobile phone at home. As to him, within a short period may be within a year, he dreams to duplicate Taytan car for market consumption and also a mobile phone that he designed years ago. Shehab created a design of smart phone years back and he is currently dreaming of producing it at home.
Shehab established a company he named “I Star” in 2019 with the goal of changing his innovations in to products. After he established the company, Shehab focused on website and application development for different companies as application and website demand was high during the COVID-19 era. The income he earned from website and application developments helped him to further strengthen his efforts of realizing his vision.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Shehab noted that ‘I Star’ Company was established without having a financial resource. At that time Shehab’s company focused on developing websites, software programs, and mobile applications for different local companies, colleges and schools. Using the finance he earned from the selling of different software applications and website development, he assembled his own designed car, Taytan. But, due to financial shortages as the production of car is cost intensive huge capital, he turned his face to producing motorcycles.
Now, Shehab is producing an electric motorcycle which he named it Urjiin. Urjiin motorcycle is Shehab’s invention meant for innovation with a design of suitableness for Ethiopia’s weather condition. Urjiin electric motorcycle is on the market and Shehab said that the product has become the choice of customers. “After years of hard work and dedication, my dream of manufacturing the electric motorcycle has become successful,” he said. As to him, the locally manufactured motorcycle is eco-friendly and eco-conscious design, which makes the product customers’ choice.
“Urjiin is emission-free with high-performance riding, stylish design, lightning-fast charging with high performance,” the innovator stated. Shehab started his business from motorcycle due to financial limitations to manufacture the car he created, Taytan, as manufacturing motorcycle comparably demands less cost than manufacturing a car. Considering the huge finance that car production demands, Shihab’s company turned its face in to motorcycle production that comparably demands lesser cost.
In addition, the growing demand of motorcycle in Ethiopia especially in Addis Ababa, according to Shihab, initiates his company to manufacture electric motorcycle at home. As the demand of motorcycle grows, his company aims to penetrate the market coming with suitable designs and a carbon emission-free product so as to promote green economy.
“Service delivery companies are using motorcycles and the price of gas for fuel consuming motorcycles is growing. This makes service delivery difficult for the service providers to earn profit with the payments that service seekers are paying,” Shehab stated. As to him, imported motorcycles are expensive and the growing price of gas is making the service delivery tough. Hence, the locally produced electric motorcycle comes with new solution as it is chargeable and the price of the product is cheaper than the imported ones.
Most inputs used for the manufacturing of the electric motorcycle are from local sources, while some parts of the inputs are imported. “Our product is not a simply electric motorcycle, we localized and customized the product so as to make it suitable for Ethiopian weather condition,” Shehab reiterated. As to him, the battery can serve for long years and it is chargeable at any place where electric is available even with limited power which makes the product preferable even in rural areas. The engine has also 1,500 cc capacity and can carry up to 250 kilogram products. In addition, anti-theft system is connected to the motorcycle.
For Shehab, the motorcycle produced at home has a lot of benefits. In the first place, it saves foreign currency as foreign currency remains a serious challenge for the country. Secondly, it saves cost for the users as it is cheaper than the imported products. ‘Customers can buy it at cheap price than the imported ones.” For the innovator, technology transfer and job opportunity for the youth are few among the benefits of manufacturing it at home.
Similarly, as a startup innovator struggling to change his innovational ideas in to visible products, he promotes startup businesses and innovators to keep on changing their ideas in to products within challenging environment. He initiates innovators and youth with new technological ideas to continue working on their innovations.
Absence of land for manufacturing for startups and bureaucracies are among the challenges for startup businesses in addition to financial challenges, according to him. “In the first place, changing an idea in to a product by its self is challenging,” Shehab added that “in addition, absence of supports and other constraints like lack of land and other requirements asked by government offices to launch a company are critical challenges.,” He to hack through the bureaucratic labyrinth.
According to Shehab a lot of youths have innovations and ideas that can be changed in to products. Shehab recommends youths to work in team and to think success within challenging environment instead of struggling independently and waiting “a right time” to realize their vision. Through team and collective actions, innovators can overcome the challenges that they face individually be it financially or otherwise.
“An idea passes a lot of steps to become a marketable product and it is tough for one individual to overcome all these challenges single alone. Team work would be the appropriate solution for startup businesses,” Shehab underlined adding “a company that aims to produce marketable product needs experts from diverse fields, which shows the necessity of team work of individuals instead of struggling independently.” In addition, Shehab recommends innovators to focus on ideas that can help to solve existing societal problems. “If we focus on a product that solves the existing problems of the society, we can easily penetrate the market.”
Shihab was born and raised in Dodola town and he started innovations since he was 11. Now, he is dreaming of becoming one among known technology company owners in Ethiopia and beyond. He has also a desire of initiating support to young inventors and innovators to realize their vision.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
The Ethiopian Herald December 8/2023
