Currently, mother earth is no longer a comfy zone for human beings as population is increasing steadily.
The number of youths graduating from universities, colleges, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other institutions is growing from time to time.
This time, handling the limited resources properly and meeting the ever unlimited human demand might not be easy. Thus, it requires being smart while doing business.
Today’s success story guest has been striving towards realizing his dream from the very beginning. Starting from childhood he has been imbued with planning, doing and cultivating business in the resource limited world.
Ahmed Ali was born and raised in the East of Addis Ababa in Adama town. He was brought up under the wings of his grandfather. He became a dashing business man while a fledgling.
He attended his primary and secondary school education in Adama number Seven and Saint Joseph schools respectively. During the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I, his grandfather was one of the merchants in the town. But, following the ascent of the military junta (Derg regime) to power his grandfather’s property was confiscated.
The way he joined business starts from working side to pursuing his education in the evening program. After recognizing his interest to grow big engaged in business his grandfather Hamid Ahmed provided him a 19,000 Birr capital as a token of encouragement to realize his dream.
“Supplying wheat, Teff and other grains to factories and selling the same in other areas was my eye-opener business engagement. I also had been bringing nuts from Babile and distributing it in Merkato. Then after, I swapped to supplying processed agricultural products. As my grandfather advised me to work hard and demonstrate conspicuous changes, I continued capping my challenging of frontiers with success stories, he said.
According to him, the motivational factor behind his desire to join the business sector highly rests on winning life. Being more loyal to people, he found at every walks of life, helped him worm his way into the hearts people around him.
At his early days of engagement in business, he used to gather 100 up to 1,000 quintals of grain to supply them to agricultural product distributors and exporters. Then, he conducted a feasibility study to identify as to which grain is market oriented and could profit him if he supplied it to the global market.
Among agricultural products, Oilseeds, Teff, wheat, nut and other agricultural products became his yields of focus to feed the international market. He joined the international business in 2000 by exporting agricultural products to the Middle East countries. During these years [2000s] doing international business was not a honeymoon, he said.
“Fax was the only platform to communicate with people living far beyond one’s surroundings. Therefore, people who are highly committed to stride long in the business sector must grab the bull by the horn as a means to step up and explore better mechanisms to find a niche in the sector. I used to pay up to 20 Birr to wire a fax abroad. But, currently in the advent of new technological innovations like, Whatsup, Face book and other social media networking, it has become easy to do business, ” he noted.
As to him, the introduction of modern machineries, Information Technology (IT) and other latest machineries have been playing an indispensable role in facilitating the international business sector.
Yemen, Pakistan, India, among others, have become his potential market destinations of the aforementioned export items.
“Currently, I have already won credibility in marketing the Ethiopian agricultural products among the international community. Having contact with foreign individuals has helped me to facilitate my business immensely”, he underscored.
He has also plans to widen his business in agriculture, cattle Breeding as well as leather processing factory. He has also acquired plots of land from the federal and regional government bodies to fructify his push in the sector.
As to him, working extensively on export items, agricultural products pays off and working aggressively in this regard is among his future objective.
According to him, the country has a great potential than aforementioned areas which could make a difference in creating huge job opportunities to youths and generating hard currencies.
Kality Animal Feed Enterprise is one of his factories, which is going to be operational in the near future. The enterprise will add a greater value to the country’s cattle sector, he noted.
Bureaucratic systems in some government bureaus, lack of modern infrastructural facilities, among others, are the leading challenges regarding promoting investment, he said.
“Planning, starting, doing and promoting businesses could turn one’s cap of tea if attended by convictions to grow in the sector. The country is suitable to the agricultural business sector. Thus, the youths should be involved largely in the agricultural, livestock and horticulture sectors. Then they have to change themselves with the country’s abundant resource”, is his advice to the youth.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition August4/ 2019
BY TEWODROS KASSA
