<h1 style="text-align:center;">An in-depth interview with Feleg Tsegaye of Deliver Addis</h1>​​For more stories, download our recent<a href="https://api.renewstrategies.com/uploads/RENEW_2020_2021_Impact_Report_web_5e1a98866d.pdf"> Impact Report</a>, and read an abbreviated version of the following story called “Scaling Delivery to Meet Pandemic Demands” on page 18 of the report.While many companies watched demand for their products and services screech to a halt, Deliver Addis, Ethiopia’s premier online food delivery company, had a good year. Founder Feleg Tsegaye and the Roadrunner/Deliver Addis team responded quickly at the start of the pandemic with creativity and speed to scale the company’s services and expand their online store beyond restaurant takeout to include groceries, household supplies and other consumer products.&nbsp;Here’s what Feleg had to say during a conversation in the first quarter of 2021. Most of it is more applicable than ever as the pandemic continues in new forms throughout the globe.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/DA_pic_b9dbe91ad4.png"></figure>Q: First, can you tell me your personal story of the pandemic and your business?&nbsp;The pandemic was unexpected. We had been waiting to see when the pandemic might hit Ethiopia. It seemed like the rest of the world was getting hit first. We bought out a stock of N95 masks the day before the first case was announced in Ethiopia. Within a day of the first documented case, restaurants started calling and saying that foot traffic went to zero within hours. And they were concerned about their livelihoods. Some closed within the first 24 hours and haven’t reopened. It had a very immediate effect.&nbsp;We ended up reducing our prices by 30% to make it easier for people to order. Most people were looking to conserve whatever income they were making because they were not sure what might happen tomorrow. We did what we could to reduce that financial impact to people. We worked with restaurants by providing guidance on how to help prevent Covid-19 transmission within restaurants and provided education to our consumers on how to avoid transmissions. For other restaurants, we helped them come up with a temporary, low priced menu in order to encourage people to order. So, we did a number of things outside of delivery just to make sure that the ecosystem itself could remain somewhat stable. We expanded our fleet by 60% to fulfil orders and to provide more opportunities.&nbsp;It was an interesting time, there was not a lot of precedent, it helped us in the long run and it helped us to help other businesses as well. Most restaurants didn't have to lay off a lot of people. We at least provided some kind of stop gap when many restaurants were feeling the pinch.&nbsp;Q: What is your outlook for your business? What do the next few years look like?A sentiment that is widely held in the tech community is that Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of tech based services and products by 3-7 years. Technology can be a bigger part of our lives even more so than it used to be. For us, our goal is to be as accessible to as many people as possible. For the business as a whole, we are going to expand pretty significantly. Especially in terms of labor and staffing so we look forward to a transformed organization along with the transformed environment that we now find ourselves in.&nbsp;Q: What is the process that you went through as an entrepreneur?&nbsp;It was really trial and error in the beginning. We didn’t have a lot of historical precedent to say what would work and not work. But the fact that we were there to answer the calls of other restaurants and business owners and just reassure them that there was a way through it changed our relationship with our vendors. Yes, we have a business relationship, but at the same time, we all needed to make sure that we all survived and lived to see another day. So I think it allowed me to step outside of the business perspective and really be there for the businesses which were struggling.Q: Are you familiar with the phrase “Standing Ground”? What does it mean to you as an entrepreneur?Yeah, not sure if there’s a specific context to that phrase, other than communicating the importance of resilience. In our case, we couldn't just stand our ground, we had an even greater responsibility given the work that we did, to become more available to people and to prevent people from putting themselves at risk when trying to get food and supplies. Rather than just standing ground, we had to push forward despite the headwinds. We had to launch grocery services and find ways to get people what they wanted rather than forcing them to go to them. We had to push forward as much as we could.&nbsp;As an e-commerce business, connectivity is pretty important to what we do. We could function during the pandemic because we had the bare necessities. When the internet was shut down for 3 weeks with the uncertainty of when it may come back, it prevented us from having operational visibility that we are used to and allowing consumers to reach us.&nbsp; We took some notes from old air traffic control procedures whereby every plane and designator and other details would be written on a piece of paper and have a board in which air traffic controllers would reorder these planes as they were landing. We sent out a blast text and asked our customers to text us your orders. We used these pieces of paper and a large conference table subdivided into different sections based on the status of the order at that time. This paper would go to each of those stations on the tables manned by a specific individual until it was completed. We used that to manage orders, even when we couldn't tell where our drivers were. It took a little bit of creativity.&nbsp;Q: What was the hardest part of 2020/2021 so far for your business?&nbsp;I think the labor force. Staffing has always been a challenge. Because you are trying to bring on people who are not used to formal employment, they may be used to doing things under table or in an undocumented fashion. And as you try to bring them into the formal workforce, there are a&nbsp; lot of people who may not be ready for it. In emerging markets when the economy is growing rapidly, people want to see themselves in it.&nbsp;Q: What support for these challenges did you receive?Thanks to the Impact Angel Network, we were able to raise some additional capital. Especially since we had to reduce prices, we needed to make sure that we were still able to pay and compensate our team fairly. We are in a sector that thrived during the pandemic compared to other sectors, so it was really on our shoulders to support the larger community. Whether that is broadening the consumer base or advising the restaurants based on the feedback we get from customers. We were at a point where we needed to help those individuals who were struggling because if many restaurants close then that would also come to us. We developed a symbiotic relationship during that time, where everyone was trying to figure out how to get through each month.&nbsp;Q: How has your business shifted or pivoted to adapt?Adding grocery services and other deliverable items broadened the use case for our service. Customers who can’t afford to order for every meal or who don't want to do that for other health reasons, can have the option to order ingredients they will use to cook. In Ethiopia, there is even greater value addition because you often find yourselves going to multiple stores to find anything that you need to prepare any recipe you may want.&nbsp; But in our case, we could tell you what a retailer does or doesn’t have without you having to go to find out.&nbsp;Q: What do you think is the most important thing that you learned as an entrepreneur from the global pandemic?&nbsp;Always be prepared for a rainy day. You have no idea what is coming around the corner and so the only thing you can do is be as proactive as possible. So expect that the internet might get shut down or a key team member could come down with Covid-19. You need to continue to build these contingency plans to address these things that might happen.In emerging markets, you become quickly aware of what could go wrong or how things can quickly change. It's a daily reality depending on what sector/country you are operating in. I think it just continued to reinforce that for us. Whereas for others who are used to things always working, those individuals were most hit. A lot of things they may have taken for granted weren’t there. I think Ethiopia prepares you for these situations. But you realize that this is a great life skill rather than just the business you are in now.&nbsp;Q: Anything else to say about resilience? Or how to build a resilient company?This is tough because there are different types of resilience. Financial is one but also the mental resilience as well. I think as a leader, you need to stay optimistic during these times because people look up to you to set the tone in terms of how they should feel about their jobs and situations that affect everyone as a whole. So you need to be prepared to help lead them through those times. It's not always about business but also making sure that they are still feeling positive despite the challenges they are facing and letting them know they are not alone in this; that at the end of the day, you will do everything that you can to make sure that this impacts them as little as possible. That helps people continue in their jobs without worrying about what the future might hold.&nbsp; Picture by Ian Christmann: <a href="www.ianchrismann.com">www.ianchristmann.com</a>&nbsp;Disclaimer: This blog is provided as a recounting of the IAN’s and RENEW's interactions with Deliver Addis and the happenings at Deliver Addis. It is not intended as performance data related to the IAN’s investment in Deliver Addis and is not indicative of other companies in the IAN’s portfolio, their social impact or the performance of investments in them. Any discussion of Deliver Addis's achievements, performance or social impact is no guarantee that such outcomes, performance or impact will be realized by Deliver Addis in the future, or by other IAN portfolio companies or other investments managed by RENEW, now or in the future.

Scaling delivery to meet pandemic demands

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An in-depth interview with Feleg Tsegaye of Deliver Addis

Meet Feleg Tsegaye of Roadrunner/Deliver Addis. Members of the Impact Angel Network invested in Roadrunner Technology Solutions LLC, which partners with Universal Courier Services PLC (Deliver Addis) to expand the burgeoning logistics and e-commerce industries in Ethiopia. Deliver Addis is a technology-enabled, online delivery company. 

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<h1 style="text-align:center;">Mama Fresh Injera Attends and Speaks at an ACDI/VOCA Workshop</h1><figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:23.27%;"><img src="/uploads/mftc_logo_tm_1_40e48cdd78.png"></figure>Last week, one of RENEW’s portfolio companies, Mama Fresh Injera PLC, had the honor of attending and speaking at a workshop hosted by ACDI/VOCA’s Agricultural Growth Program-Agribusiness and Market Development (<a href="http://acdivoca.org/our-programs/project-profiles/ethiopia-agricultural-growth-program-agribusiness-and-market">AGP-AMDe</a>). According to ACDI/VOCA’s website, the AGP-AMDe program in Ethiopia “uses a value chain approach to strengthen the agriculture sector, enhance access to finance, and stimulate innovation and private sector investment.”The coffee, chickpea, honey, wheat, maize and sesame value chains are all considered to be of the utmost importance to the U.S. and Ethiopian governments, and consequently to the AGP-AMDe program as well. In fact, this program is part of USAID’s Feed the Future initiative, which focuses on reducing global poverty and hunger by accelerating agricultural growth in 19 developing countries.Over the course of the workshop, AGP-AMDe reviewed the progress of their projects in Ethiopia that spanned across the six value chains (coffee, chickpea, honey, wheat, maize and sesame), and showed a new video that outlined the status of the projects in the Amhara region. AGP-AMDe gave certificates of appreciation to partners of ACDI/VOCA, and highlighted the progress of the companies they provided grants to in the various value chains. This includes the sesame unions and associations for honey, pulses and coffee, the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange, and other government and non-government institutions. AGP-AMDe also mentioned RENEW and how private equity investment is helping local business to grow and create a more robust agriculture sector.<figure class="image image-style-align-right image_resized" style="width:40.2%;"><img src="/uploads/img_6262_63e434109c.jpg"></figure>Hailu Tessema of Mama Fresh served as a panelist on Business Enabling Environment: Access to Finance and Investment discussion, along with other companies and cooperative union leaders. Over the course of the panel, Hailu thanked USAID for helping RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN) partner with Mama Fresh, and discussed how RENEW and the IAN have done much more than simply provide access to finance - they have strengthened Mama Fresh as a company. Hailu outlined the changes that have been implemented since the IAN's investment in Mama Fresh, and encouraged the development community to continue to assist local companies partner with investors like RENEW and the IAN. Hailu concluded that while giving grants to local companies is important, private investment (while harder to obtain) makes Ethiopian companies stronger, because it forces companies to adopt new behaviors and disciplines.The work that RENEW and the IAN are doing in Ethiopia with local entrepreneurs would not be possible without the assistance of USAID and our development partners, like ACDI/VOCA.

Mama Fresh's Hailu Tessema participated as a panelist at last week's AGP-AMDe event.

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Mama Fresh Injera Attends and Speaks at an ACDI/VOCA Workshop

Meet Hailu and Konjit, the husband and wife founders of Mama Fresh. Members of the Impact Angel Network closed an investment in January 2014 into Mama Fresh Injera, a commercial manufacturer and exporter of fresh-baked injera and spices. Injera is a staple bread of Ethiopian cuisine and is made from teff, a gluten-free grain. 

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<h1 style="text-align:center;">An In Depth Interview with Eyob Bekele of Desta Garments</h1>For more pictures from Desta, download our recent <a href="https://api.renewstrategies.com/uploads/RENEW_2020_2021_Impact_Report_web_5e1a98866d.pdf">Impact Report</a>, and read an abbreviated version of the following story called “Building Community and Industry Despite a Textile Supply Chain Shutdown” on page 17 of the report.When markets shut down in 2020 and consumers in lockdown across the world no longer ventured to malls to shop for the season’s fashions, the global textile supply chain stalled. Ripple effects were felt hard in countries like Ethiopia, which has been investing for years to grow its textile industry to compete with Asia’s manufacturing hubs.&nbsp;Desta, the textile company in which the IAN invested in 2015, was no exception to these hardships. While managing the setbacks of orders being delayed and canceled, Desta founder Eyob Bekele took seriously the high risk of potential virus spread in the factory, doubling down on Desta’s commitment to corporate and social responsibility to protect the jobs and safety of more than 1,300 employees and their supporting local communities.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/eyob_6377d6d2e3.jpg"><figcaption>Eyob Bekele - Image by Ian Christmann: www.ianchristmann.com</figcaption></figure>Here’s what Eyob had to say during a recent conversation.About Eyob’s and Desta’s Experience of the Pandemic... As soon as the pandemic broke out, the major challenge was the cancellation of orders. The second was the stability of workers. Everyone was nervous about how to be in the work environment. We ended up closing the factory for 2 weeks and then came the government policy that said we could not let go of workers. No terminations were allowed. All of that added up to big challenges. Revenues were done. Workers were not stable. And the government policy said that we had to pay salaries.&nbsp;Along with the policy from the government that you were not allowed to terminate jobs, came a policy that said the government was going to be flexible and allow us to use raw materials to produce goods for the local market. The challenge always gives you an opportunity. Because people could not fly, the local market did not have as many resources, materials or products. So that opened up the local markets.&nbsp;Also, thankfully some of our international orders actually increased. The uniforms business helped us get through. Previously, we had orders 6 months in advance. Order flow was a challenge during the pandemic. And we were no longer able to travel to see customers.&nbsp;About Desta’s Expansion... I focused on our expansion in Butajira. We are trying to finalize and organize the Butajira factory. We currently have eight production lines and we are moving to 11. We have a canteen for employees where we make and provide bread and tea. We currently employ 500 in Butajira, making us the largest employer in the area and another 700 at our factory in Addis. This year, we hope to add at least 300 more employees to the Butajira factory.&nbsp;We’ve made a long term commitment to Butajira and are working with the community on several fronts. We distributed masks during COVID. We are currently planning to provide clean water to the community along with educational support and health care. We have started, with our sister company, to move into the construction of a 50-bed hospital. During COVID, we provided 20 hospital beds for the current Butajira hospital.&nbsp;Desta’s COVID-19 efforts... During COVID, we believe that between the Butajira and Addis factory, we have reached more than 200,000 people and communities with COVID-related education and provided more than&nbsp; 150,000 masks to the community free of charge.&nbsp;Pandemic Learnings... 2020 was a challenge all its own. We had to come up with solutions on a day to day basis. We learned how to survive a pandemic including hand washing training and temperature tests for workers. Some of the health efforts will likely remain with us in our factory health practices. It is still not business as usual. Out of the box solutions have helped us survive with production. Flexibility is important. The pandemic has caused us to think differently.&nbsp;Video conference and Whatsapp and telephone have replaced the in person sales meetings. We started a virtual trade show. We now do video chats, virtual tours and virtual audits. Nothing replaces face to face, but we have found a way. Also, travel was a big part of how I learned. Limited travel means limited exposure. To be honest the things I know are the things I saw a year ago. I really miss that piece of travel. It’s a big gap for me.&nbsp;Outlook on the Pandemic in Africa... For me, I do not believe we have not seen the full impact of the pandemic yet. Whatever is happening in the rest of the world, we are yet to see in Africa. So unfortunately we may feel the impact in a year, and we should be prepared for it. Ethiopia is not only experiencing COVID, it has other challenges with economic impact, including the slow devaluation of the currency. We have to prepare for the worst.&nbsp;Commitment to Workers... One thing we decided is that we need to keep our workers. Maintaining the work environment is key. Our employees are the lifeblood of the factory. It may eat into our profits now, but it is key that workers who have been trained stay with us. That is our priority right now.&nbsp;Desta’s Vision... What we have done in 2020, we will continue to do. Our vision is to be the #1 garment facility in Ethiopia, and the preferred partner for garment makers. We continue to be committed to compliance with many different standards. In 2020, we achieved ISO 9000 certification. We are the only one in East Africa with STeP OEKO-TEX certification.&nbsp; Disclaimer: The information included in this blog is provided as a recounting of the IAN’s interactions with Desta and the happenings at Desta. It is not intended as performance data related to the IAN’s investment in Desta and is not indicative of other companies in the IAN’s portfolio, their social impact or the performance of investments in them. Any discussion of Desta’s achievements or social impact is no guarantee that such outcomes or impact will be realized by Desta in the future, or by other IAN portfolio companies or other investments managed by RENEW, now or in the future. &nbsp;

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An In Depth Interview with Eyob Bekele of Desta Garments

Meet Eyob Bekel, CEO of Desta. Members of the Impact Angel Network closed an investment in his family's company, Desta PLC, a textile and apparel manufacturing operation located in Ethiopia, in December 2015. Desta is a family-owned business established in 1993. The company produces and exports fabric and garments and provides cut-and-sew, knitting and embroidery services to domestic and international clients. Desta is committed to fair treatment of its employees and adherence to guiding principles of sustainability, setting it apart from the trajectory this industry has taken in many other low and middle-income countries. 

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<h1 style="text-align:center;">An in-depth interview with Samrawit Moges of Travel Ethiopia​​</h1>For more pictures from Travel Ethiopia, download our recent<a href="https://api.renewstrategies.com/uploads/RENEW_2020_2021_Impact_Report_web_5e1a98866d.pdf"> Impact Report</a>, and read an abbreviated version of the following story called “Seizing Open Opportunities Despite Closed Borders” on page 19 of the report.&nbsp;In January of 2020, Samrawit Moges had a thriving tourism business with 25 years of experience and 60 staff. A female business owner and visionary for gender equality, 40% of Moges’ employees are women, and her company was the first in Ethiopia to hire and train female tour guides.&nbsp;&nbsp;In late 2019, she completed RENEW’s Exec’s Program and received an investment from the IAN Women’s Fund, just in time for the global travel and tourism industry to be shuttered. “The hospitality industry has been hit harder than many other sectors,” Moges explained, reflecting on a year of closed borders, grounded airlines and very few inbound tourists.&nbsp;&nbsp;While travel restrictions to Ethiopia have begun to ease, Ethiopian tourism faces a double struggle of security concerns for travelers on top of the health issues that the industry must overcome. Yet, Moges is committed to standing her ground. Her vision is to continue to diversify her business and open new opportunities that will allow her to weather any future storms she and her employees may come against. “I see a bright future because our mentality has changed for the better,” she says. “We’ve already seen improvement from 2020 into 2021; 2022 will be a great year!”&nbsp;Here’s what Samrawit had to say during a recent conversation.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_030_2e0d615e0e.jpg"></figure>First, can you tell me how you experienced the pandemic?&nbsp; As we all know, most sectors have been hit by the pandemic and bombed in terms of finance. The hospitality industry is among them, and I am one of them being a tour operator in Ethiopia.We had rented our vehicles to the Ministry of Health to transport their doctors and medicine. The payment is low and slow coming but it’s helping us. We are paying salaries still, and we had two big opportunities in March and April 2021. 2020, we were supposed to have clients coming but it didn't happen. One of the issues we are facing is a double hit as a result of the issues of security on top of the health issues that other countries are facing.&nbsp;Did you have to close your business? Did it affect your employees and income? We didn't have any intention to close the company. The main issue here for businesses can be rent which we didn't face. I used to go to the office 6 days a week before, but now the marketing and sales team are working from home where we installed internet for them. We also provided transport for anyone that came to the office. We didn't have to close our business.&nbsp;How did you adapt to your new way of working? Did you have to change your business model? Yes, I had taken The Exec’s Program at RENEW, and we were trying to implement things when COVID hit. Since my two other managers took the training with me, we worked to completely adopt the whole training which was very effective. We have implemented standard operating procedures, position agreements and an annual management plan. The only thing that the pandemic restricted us from getting done was forming a board.We sent out promotions and video clips which we disseminated to all our clients, and it showed a coffee ceremony and said: we are going to meet again, stay safe. These shows are still working and active despite the issues we faced.&nbsp;Are you familiar with the phrase “Standing Ground”? What does it mean to you as an entrepreneur? I started this business in 1994 in my bedroom when I lived with my mother. When I opened my office, I thought it was the path for me. I believe in starting small and growing big. My fellow Rotarian had given me his first client. The package they purchased was hyena watching in Harar, and while they were watching this spectacle, a hand grenade was thrown, and my guide died. All people said it was a bad omen for my business. But since tourism is my passion, I had to move on from this. I bought insurance for the very small team I had at that time. There were challenges with the family too, but this made me even stronger afterward. I couldn't give up. It’s all in the mind. If I had stopped, I would have given up this business.&nbsp;One needs to be courageous in what they are doing when faced with struggles. This kept me going and never giving up. I realized nothing could stop me.What was the hardest part of the pandemic for your business? One hard thing was understanding the issue when the pandemic hit. Panic doesn't help anyone. People must know how to tackle a problem. Optimism is one of the best things for the human mind. We stayed home for weeks and thought about “what will I do with my business?”. So, I sat and started reading about it. And of course, Matt and Laura provided a ZOOM call on how to survive during a crisis. I then followed many podcasts which helped me to know about COVID and how to work through it.As you look forward, further into 2021, and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, what dreams and visions do you now have for your business growth? We always face a problem getting a booking in the Semien area and the demand is very high. I was planning for our own lodge in that area. Even if I invest in this lodge, I need a partner to help me in managing it. I want to take Travel Ethiopia to the highest place. I would like to bring an expat to manage this business and work on taking it to another level.&nbsp;Disclaimer: This blog is provided as a recounting of the IAN’s and RENEW’s interactions with Travel Ethiopia and the happenings at Travel Ethiopia. This blog is not intended as performance data related to the IAN’s investment in Travel Ethiopia. Information about Travel Ethiopia pertains only to Travel Ethiopia and is not indicative of other companies in the IAN’s portfolio or the performance of investments in them. Any discussion of the performance of Travel Ethiopia or its social impact is no guarantee that such performance or impact will be realized by other IAN portfolio companies or other investments managed by RENEW, now or in the future.

How Travel Ethiopia Navigated the Pandemic

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An in-depth interview with Samrawit Moges of Travel Ethiopia

Meet Samrawit Moges a force of nature in Ethiopia's tourism sector. The Impact Angel Network closed an investment in Queen of Sheba LLC which partners with Travel Ethiopia PLC in Ethiopia to provide high-quality ecotourism and safari services. 

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Meet Kibret Abebe of Tebita Ambulance. The Impact Angel Network closed an investment in May 2015 into East Africa Emergency Services LTD (EAES), which partners with Tebita Ambulance. The company helps ensure that international and domestic clients have access to reliable, high-quality emergency care in Ethiopia. Tebita is the first private-sector ambulance company in Ethiopia. 

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Current Portfolio and Exited Companies

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Facilitates Investment into dVentus Technologies</h1>RENEW is pleased to announce the close of an investment into dVentus Technologies, an Ethiopian clean energy company. The investment was capitalized by members of the Ethiopia Angel Network (EAN), the Charlotte, North Carolina-based chapter of RENEW's global Impact Angel Network, along with other members throughout the U.S.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/photo_dventus_b547c80ff5.jpg"></figure>dVentus Technologies is a clean energy company based in Ethiopia focusing on system integration and energy efficiency solutions for renewable energy projects and advanced transportation. The angel investors began discussions with dVentus' CEO Daniel Gizaw in February 2013 during an <a href="https://renewstrategies.com/investor-lounge/econ-tourism">Econ-Tourism trip</a> to Addis Ababa.The EAN was drawn to dVentus both for the high potential for social impact and the company's exemplary management team. Mr. Gizaw has 25 years' experience developing and manufacturing the latest energy conversion technology. He and members of his team have worked on a variety of high technology innovations for General Electric, Ford Motor Company, NASA and United Technologies, among others.The investment will allow dVentus to develop prototypes of energy efficiency products including smart grid application solutions. dVentus plans to manufacture and deliver these technologies to Ethiopian and international clients. The efficiencies created by these systems could save the equivalent of a large hydroelectric dam. Anticipated social impacts include 200 new highly skilled, professional and primarily engineering jobs and millions of Ethiopians with access to more reliable, efficient energy.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/photo_dventus3_69cd87cf94.jpg"></figure>Tip Moore, one of the members of the Ethiopia Angel Network, is hopeful about the implications the investment will have for Ethiopia and other African countries. "We are extremely excited about our investment in dVentus. This investment will allow dVentus to take their operations to an even greater level and help Ethiopians better manage their energy. Energy management is the wave of the future and dVentus is helping lead the way."RENEW is excited to be part of Africa's changing story and we are thrilled to see the potential of this investment unfold in Ethiopia. &nbsp;

RENEW closes an investment into an Ethiopian clean energy company.

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RENEW Facilitates Investment into dVentus Technologies

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<h1 style="text-align:center;">Press Release: RENEW's Impact Angel Network Closes Eleventh Investment in East Africa</h1><a href="https://renewstrategies.com/sites/default/files/november_8_2018_-_renew_press_release_-_et_fresh_-_final.pdf">Download the Full Press Release.</a>Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 8, 2018-- RENEW and members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) have closed an investment in ET Fresh, LLC (ET Fresh). ET Fresh will specialize in increasing the branding, value and market reach of Ethiopian products into the Middle East and other markets. The company is a partnership between the IAN and Tesfalidet Hagos, the General Manager of Luna Export Slaughterhouse PLC, a family owned Ethiopian agriculture conglomerate.Initially, ET Fresh will focus on increasing the export of high-quality, processed and branded meat products from Ethiopia. ET Fresh intends to expand from this initial focus to become an umbrella brand that will launch a series of fresh product lines that are all-natural, premium quality and sustainable.In pursuing this strategy, the company will leverage the cattle ranching expertise which members of RENEW’s Impact Angel Network bring to the venture, as well as Mr. Hagos’ strong track record as a manager of industry-leading companies involved in processing fresh food in Ethiopia. RENEW will provide ET Fresh with branding and marketing support to position the company’s products for new markets, as well as supporting management in the areas of governance, financial management and recruiting.RENEW expects that this investment will contribute to the creation of hundreds of new jobs in Ethiopia, as well as greater income for pastoralists and increased foreign currency and tax revenue for Ethiopia.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/screen_shot_2018_11_06_at_10_47_50_am_0_d42c8ac59f.png"></figure>“I have great enthusiasm to work with [the] RENEW team and [they] will definitely make a difference in our marketing operation. It will give us a great opportunity to promote our country’s products internationally with a much better image and branding,” commented Mr. Tesfalidet Hagos.“We are excited to partner with Mr. Hagos and Luna,” said Matthew Davis, CEO of RENEW. He added, “Ethiopia has one of the largest livestock populations in Africa. It is a huge asset for the country and we are excited to help Luna and the citizens of Ethiopia realize greater economic and social value from this resource.”RENEW and the Impact Angel Network are one of the most active private equity investors in Ethiopia and recently expanded to Uganda. RENEW and the IAN seek to become the most successful SME investment firm in Sub-Saharan Africa, investing in hundreds of companies across twenty countries. Their mission is to find, invest and help grow great companies led by visionary leaders. The IAN and RENEW believe the greatest impact they can have in a country is realized through investing in strong companies and creating good jobs . They are able to accomplish this objective in Ethiopia and this investment in ET Fresh with support from Global Affairs Canada through a blended finance model. The investment in ET Fresh, LLC is the Impact Angel Network’s eleventh investment in a portfolio of ten companies in East Africa.&nbsp;###&nbsp;To find out more about RENEW, please visit <a href="../../index.html">www.renewstrategies.com</a>. RENEW manages the Impact Angel Network (IAN) and provides professional management and consulting services to portfolio companies.

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Press Release: RENEW's Impact Angel Network Closes Eleventh Investment in East Africa

Increasing the export of high-quality, value-added products from Ethiopia.

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Producing world-class tahini from Ethiopia’s finest sesame.

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Developing a quick-service restaurant option for Ethiopia.

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<h1 style="text-align:center;">Back to the Source: Coffee</h1>&nbsp;AN INTRODUCTION TO KAFFAKaffa, Ethiopia, from which the term “coffee” is derived, is the birthplace of coffee, according to many experts including <a href="http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/History-of-Coffee">The National Coffee Association</a>. To this day, the Kaffa region in the southwestern part of Ethiopia remains one of the strongest coffee-producing regions in the country.The legend goes that Kaldi, an Ethiopian goat herder, first discovered coffee after he noticed his goats became energetic upon eating cherries from a certain tree. Kaldi shared this knowledge with the monks of a local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and enjoyed its invigorating properties. Soon, the findings of coffee spread from Ethiopia to the Arabian Peninsula and then on to Europe. The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen.(1) By the 16th century, coffee had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey and Northern Africa before spreading to Europe, Indonesia, and finally to the Americas.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0854_4341a7fdef.jpg"></figure>As it has been since the 16th century, Ethiopia remains one of the largest producers of Arabica coffee beans in the world. RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN) are proud to be a part of this important tradition through our investment in METAD Agricultural Development PLC (METAD), an Ethiopian specialty coffee company founded in 2012 by Aman Adinew. With a vision for crop-to-cup coffee, METAD aims to not only strengthen Ethiopia’s coffee reputation amongst sophisticated consumers in the international market, but also help local farmers improve the quality and value of their harvested crop. In pursuit of this vision, METAD seeks to become the leading specialty coffee brand by offering global and domestic consumers with the highest quality, 100% Ethiopian Arabica coffee.METAD’s coffee cultivation, harvesting and primary processing occurs at farm sites 75 kilometers beyond Yirgacheffe, deep in the heart of some of Ethiopia’s best coffee country. METAD’s 200-hectare Hambela and Gedeb farm and processing sites include washing stations, a dry mill, a huller, beds for sun drying, and warehouses for storage to handle all of the pre- and post-harvesting coffee activities.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/view_of_hambela_processing_site_0_5b205d80d6.jpg"></figure>COFFEE CULTIVATIONAs a whole, coffee's production process and value chain are very complex, much like viticulture. The two main species of coffee grown for coffee production today are Arabica and Robusta, with Arabica coffee being indigenous to the mountains of the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia.The Ethiopian coffee value chain starts with farms, like METAD, that grow and harvest red cherries - the coffee fruit and seed (see photo below). Farms either sell the harvested cherries to independent processors or process the crop themselves. A processor has two options: 1) select the highest quality red cherries and dry them on raised drying beds (what is called sun-dried, unwashed or natural coffee) and hull them on location, or 2) remove the pulp from the coffee cherries by using a wet mill and dry the coffee seeds, covered in their parchment. These two types of processing techniques, also known as primary processing, are crucial to the ultimate quality and character of the coffee.In Ethiopia, the processor then sells the dried coffee seeds (or beans) to exporters on the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) platform. The exporter cleans, polishes, and bags the coffee beans for export shipping. Finally, an importer, broker or roaster imports the coffee beans into the consuming country, after which they will be roasted and be made ready for consumption.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/bts_metad_56d665a740.jpg"></figure>WHAT MAKES SPECIALTY COFFEE "SPECIAL"?Coffee can be broadly defined as specialty or commercial grade. Specialty coffee, a term first coined back in 1978 by Erna Knutsen of Knutsen Coffee Ltd., in the simplest definition refers to special geographic microclimates that produce beans with unique flavor profiles.(2) There is a fundamental understanding that specialty coffee beans will always be well prepared, freshly roasted, and properly brewed; one that the Specialty Coffee Association of American (SCAA) has standardized and enforced. The SCAA is considered to be the world’s coffee authority and the largest coffee trade association, with nearly 5,000 members located in more than 40 countries who represent every segment of the specialty coffee industry.The SCAA defines specialty coffee in its green stage as “coffee that is free of primary defects, has no “quakers” (under-ripe or under-developed attributes), is properly sized and dried, presents in the cup free of faults and taints and has distinctive attributes.”(3) In general terms, “specialty coffee is coffee from a known geographic origin that commands a premium price above commercial grade coffee due to its high quality and particular attributes that it possesses.”(4) In the case of METAD, the company produces Yirgacheffe specialty coffee, the quality of which METAD continually ensures at its coffee lab, the first and only private, state-of-the-art coffee quality control facility on the African continent that is <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/metadkabu-coffee-quality-laboratory-becomes-africas-first-private-specialty-coffee-association-of-america-certified-lab-208654311.html">certified by the SCAA</a>. Specialty coffee from this region is considered to be, by some, the highest quality in the world - an opinion that has been gaining popularity over the past several years.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/dsc_0739_1_998d048eb3.jpg"></figure>Demand for coffee is poised to hit a record in 2017, as people around the world and in developed markets are increasing their java consumption. Global coffee consumption is expected to grow by 1.2% over the upcoming year, leading to higher prices for coffee beans. “The price for Arabica coffee futures was up 20% in June 2016, marking the biggest monthly gain since February 2014.”(5) Citigroup even estimates that Arabica coffee prices could reach $1.50 per pound by the second half of 2017. To meet this increasing demand for high-quality coffee, international roasters are seeking out traceable and single-source producers in smaller sub-regions of the world. Similar to wine, consumers are willing to buy coffee at a premium if it’s from specific regions, is certified fair trade or organic, is naturally sun-dried, etc. According to a survey conducted by the National Coffee Association, the retail value of the U.S. coffee market alone is estimated to be $48 billion dollars with specialty comprising approximately 55% value share.(6) It is these overall trends that suggest sustained momentum for specialty coffee growth.BRINGING IT BACK TO THE SOURCEIt’s no wonder that with Ethiopia being the epicenter of Arabica coffee, and it ranking among some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the country is quickly becoming a target for foreign investors seeking attractive returns in the coffee value-chain, as well as domestic and export market opportunities. In fact, coffee is one of Ethiopia’s largest export commodities, with over 55% of the coffee produced in the country sent outside its borders.(7)According to a <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/eatradehub/pages/860/attachments/original/1433149069/Ethiopian_Coffee_Industry_Value_Chain_Analysis_2010.pdf?1433149069">USAID analysis</a> of the Ethiopian coffee value-chain, coffee generates “70 percent of Ethiopia‘s foreign exchange earnings and provides livelihoods for 15 million Ethiopian smallholder farmers.” The industry employs several hundred thousand workers in processing coffee cherries across hundreds of washing stations and hulling mills around the country.In Ethiopia, government institutions are responsible for the state coffee plantations with approximately 8,000 permanent employees and an estimated 50,000 seasonal jobs.(8) Coffee generates a considerable number of employment opportunities on farms, in the processing plants and in the transport sector. In Ethiopia, coffee constitutes a very important source of seasonal employment for many poor people and most agro-processing employees are women. Altogether, METAD employs 38 permanent staff and several-hundred seasonal staff, 70% or more of which are women. Additionally, they have purchased from, partnered with and/or supported more than 3,500 out growers to provide best practices on growing, harvesting and selling coffee. METAD also creates further social impact in the community surrounding the farm sites by sponsoring a school with over 600 children, constructing new community facilities (such as a school and community center) and working with development partners to build and install new wells.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/used_b2a1709f7c.jpg"></figure>Smallholder farmers, those whose plots are less than five hectares (ha), account for 95% of the country’s coffee output.(9) In fact, “average plot sizes do not exceed two ha,” wherein coffee yields remain stubbornly low compared to that of Colombia (1/3 their yield) and that of Costa Rica (1/4 their yield).(10) The country’s remaining 5% of output is produced by plantations, which average more than 50 ha in planted area, and which have been privatized by the government in recent years.”(11) However, because of the predominance of smallholders, the average yield per hectare for all cultivated land is no more than 700 to 800 kg.(12)According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s <a href="http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent GAIN Publications/Coffee Annual_Addis Ababa_Ethiopia_5-12-2014.pdf">2014 Ethiopia Coffee Annual Report</a>, the major reasons for the low coffee production are:<ol><li>Ethiopian coffee farm management system and agronomic practices are traditional and fail to inject new technologies into the country’s coffee production system. In addition, extension services provided to smallholder farmers are inadequate.</li><li>Inadequate use of improved seeds as the supply is limited to areas located near coffee research centers and universities in the country.”</li><li>Historically, there has been a lack of a designated government institution to provide technical support for coffee production. At one time, there was a specialized government agency supporting the production and marketing of coffee. However, it was “dissolved many years ago, leaving the sector with little institutional and technical support from the government.</li></ol>The Government of Ethiopia, though, has recently noted this problem and plans to restructure the coffee development sector by making it a priority value-chain under its Growth &amp; Transformation Plan II - increasing yields from 700 kg/ha to more than 1,100 kg/ha.(12)Ethiopia truly has the potential to increase coffee production and productivity as it has all the necessary “ingredients” including suitable elevation, temperature, soil fertility and sufficient rainfall in coffee growing regions of the country. With the right financial support and guidance, the country could become the number one coffee producer in the world. And METAD, with its clear vision and passionate entrepreneur, is uniquely positioned to become a market leader in Ethiopia’s specialty coffee industry.&nbsp;

An analysis and overview of one of Ethiopia’s oldest and most lucrative value chains.

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 Back to the Source: Coffee

Developing Ethiopia’s specialty
coffee sector.

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Supporting the development of emergency medical services companies in East Africa, in partnership with Tebita Ambulance.

Producing quality beverages for the Ethiopian market.

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Providing high quality, environmentally friendly diapers and baby products to the Ugandan and international market. 

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Providing ecotourism and safari services for travelers to Ethiopia, in partnership with Travel Ethiopia.

Bringing high-quality injera and Ethiopian cuisine to
the world.

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Modernizing e-commerce and logistics in Ethiopia in partnership with Deliver Addis.

Developing Ethiopia’s textile and garments sector.