From Local Grain to Global Brand: Launching and Scaling a Successful Ethiopian Superfood Business with Yonas Ademassu Alemu

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: You're listening to the Unlocking Africa podcast.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Because we have a good understanding of what goes on outside of the continent and for a country like Ethiopia, that sort of exposure is to be treasure.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Stay tuned as we bring you inspiring people who are unlocking Africa's economic potential.

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_00]: You're listening to the Unlocking Africa podcast with your host Terser Adamu.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the Unlocking Africa podcast where we find amazing people who are doing amazing things to unlock Africa's economic potential.

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Today, we have Yonas Ademassu Alemu, who is the founder of Lovegrass Ethiopia, a health food company that brings you the best of Ethiopia's agricultural produce while also bringing prosperity to the country and its people.

[00:01:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome, welcome, welcome to the podcast. Yonas, how are you?

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I am very well, Terser. Thank you for the beautiful welcome and for the amazing work that you guys are doing.

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I appreciate it. As we kind of discussed off air, this conversation is like two years in the making.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_01]: We keep on missing each other. One person is traveling, the other person's away.

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_01]: But it's brilliant that the conversation has finally arrived and I'm looking forward to it after seeing some of the amazing work that you're doing.

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, the stuff that you've been sharing online. Really looking forward to our conversation today.

[00:02:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Likewise, likewise. And I'm sorry for having been very, very busy.

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_02]: But you know, the world of an entrepreneur, I guess, or a startup for that.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_02]: And also kind of being divided in different continents in Europe and in Africa, etc.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_02]: So there's been a lot of traveling and a lot of hassle and bustle of starting a new business.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, I do apologize.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_01]: No need to apologize. It's great to have you here and I totally understand.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So thank you for that, Jonas. I know you've listened to the podcast before and you know that I like to start from the beginning.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01]: So please introduce yourself and tell us a bit more about Jonas Ademasu-Elemu.

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay. My name is Jonas Ademasu-Elemu. Originally from Ethiopia.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_02]: I left Ethiopia actually after finishing high school quite a while ago, way back in the late 80s.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And I've been working in the finance industry in the UK after finishing my studies here.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And I went back and the company started in 2015 and then went back to Ethiopia for that purpose.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Fantastic. Thank you for that.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_01]: As you mentioned, you left Ethiopia when you left high school, worked in the finance industry in the UK, started Lovegrass Ethiopia 2015,

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_01]: which is the reason why you moved back to Ethiopia.

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_01]: So can you tell us a bit more about the company, specifically the work that you're currently doing in Ethiopia or Africa as a whole?

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, how long do you have is the question.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, this is quite a long story. It's been a lifelong dream to kind of go back to Ethiopia.

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And after having been in Europe for a few decades now, two or three decades, it's just you constantly question things.

[00:04:09] [SPEAKER_02]: You constantly want to do things differently. You keep on wondering how things are done this way or that way.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, there are some recurring challenges, problems all around the continent.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And this has been a dream that's been going on for months with me since I left Ethiopia really as you go older.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_02]: And in my case, you constantly question what value have you added?

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_02]: What change have you brought to the community, the people you left behind?

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Are you part of the problem or the solution?

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's been a constant question inside for myself.

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I used to go back to Ethiopia almost every year when I was still working in investment banking to visit family in rural Ethiopia.

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's as if time has pretty much frozen, really.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you see very, very little change.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we farm the way we have always farmed for hundreds, thousands of years.

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_02]: The lifestyle and the way things go pretty much the same, really.

[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And you always question, I mean, what is the progress that my life has moved on?

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_02]: But what is it changed that I have contributed, I have brought?

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you have this constant guilt in my case at least.

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And towards the end of 2014, I noticed that which is one of the most staple seeds grains in Ethiopia.

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_02]: We make our staple food, which is injera.

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Anyone who knows Ethiopia or was visiting Ethiopia or has a friend, an Ethiopian or a Syrian friend, knows this flatbread we eat.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_02]: It's called injera.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_02]: It's made from this tiny grass seed grain called teff.

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I recently grew to learn about Fonio in the western part of Africa, which is pretty much the same.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_02]: I would say that teff is even smaller than Fonio.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_02]: It's the smallest edible seed in the world.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And Ethiopia is a staple.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_02]: And we've been growing it for thousands of years, as I said.

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_02]: It's really you cannot separate Ethiopian identity or food if you take away teff.

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And then I started seeing it here in the market in the gluten because it's a very, very healthy seed.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_02]: It's gluten naturally gluten free because it's so small.

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_02]: You just mill it.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_02]: You don't de-hull it.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's intact with the fiber and iron, calcium, magnesium.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a fantastic, fantastic seed.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_02]: In fact, nutritionally is a par with quinoa.

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Not famous quinoa, no.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And then I started seeing it here in the UK.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm like, oh my goodness, it must be coming from Ethiopia.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_02]: But of course, to my horror, I discovered it actually doesn't come from Ethiopia.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_02]: I started growing in the US mainly.

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And not only that it is going outside of Ethiopia, you know, it's actually a patent has been issued against the use of teffla

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_02]: or to a Dutch business group and literally dispossessing Ethiopia and the Ethiopian farmer, obviously, from the use of this ancient heritage grain.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's how my business idea started.

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, what value is no point complaining about it?

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And what value can I add?

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_02]: The reason why Ethiopia as a nation or the farming community in the country haven't been able to make use of it, you know,

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_02]: for commercial uses because we don't have institutional capacity in the country to commercialize it, you know, to develop commercial products that the world could use.

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_02]: So there's no point for me complaining about it.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_02]: If something is to happen, then what value can I add?

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_02]: That's how the whole idea of Lovegrass Ethiopia started.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_02]: And Lovegrass, the name Lovegrass means Teff, so Lovegrass Ethiopia really is saying Teff is Ethiopian.

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And yeah, that is the origin of the company.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Fantastic. Thank you for sharing that.

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Jonas, so if we take a few steps back in terms of your journey moving back to Ethiopia, has there been a smooth transition or has there been a few bumps along the way?

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Nah, it would be boring if it is smooth.

[00:09:10] [SPEAKER_02]: No, no, no, no, it's never smooth.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_02]: It's never smooth and it's never easy.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_02]: But of course, anything worthy of doing, you know, is never easy and smooth.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_02]: There's lots of ups and downs.

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_02]: For a start, I mean, my family living in the UK, my wife, my children,

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_02]: and kind of uprooting them with the schools and stuff is impossible to uproot myself, which means I have to separate myself from my family.

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_02]: That alone is quite a task.

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_02]: But of course, when you go back to Ethiopia, things are not as smooth.

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you know, it never is.

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_02]: There's a lot of readjusting because I've also been out of Ethiopia for a very, very long time.

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_02]: So going back, you kind of have to reprogram a lot of the things, your beliefs and your understanding of how things are done there.

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_02]: So there was a lot of adjusting that needed to be done quite a lot, quite a lot just to get the land to build the factory that I wanted to set up was an uphill struggle just to find people who believe.

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, this can be done.

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, people who believe that the decision makers, the banks, you know, good staff who want to join you in this mission.

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_02]: The entire journey hasn't been the smallest one, I can tell you that.

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_02]: But an excellent one at the same time.

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I totally understand. As you mentioned, you have to reprogram and adjust.

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_01]: So would you say you're fully adjusted now?

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_02]: No, I can tell you.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And then that's good as well. I mean, in a sense, that's why I went back.

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to be accepting and be complacent and unhappy with the status quo.

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_02]: I actually enjoy and justify it for my own self.

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Just continue questioning how we do things.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, how the finance sector operates, obviously my background being finance in Ethiopia, how banks operate and prioritize their lending and investment selections, how government prioritizes different projects, the overall policy framework.

[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you question everything and I'm OK with it.

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if I am not to be questioning these things, then my presence there is of no relevance.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, no, it's never going to be like 100 percent unhappy the way things are done.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_02]: No, I question things every day and I'm OK with it.

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm OK with that.

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Brilliant. Thank you for that. So as you mentioned, you're very comfortable with questioning things from finance to government, which also enables you to progress and move forward with the business.

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So in order to progress and move forward with the business, what have been some of the most common challenges that you've had to overcome to build this productive and sustainable business that you have?

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, sir, I think the first thing I'm sure this is not necessarily an Ethiopian challenge.

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's a continental, it's an African challenge.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I think the first thing we need to start with is just that it is possible that we're done doing.

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_02]: We need to aim really, really high, way, way high.

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Otherwise, for me personally, if it is just a very simple thing, then it just doesn't doesn't excite me.

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_02]: The challenge and the mission we set out to be really way, way up there.

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_02]: But the biggest challenge I have for me is finding people who believe in it, who can think it's possible when you have a mission, a really, really big one with a big goal, with a big vision.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to have people who believe in it to be with you. Otherwise, you can't do it on your own.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_02]: So and also you need the backing of, you know, the state, the government, regional, local authorities in Ethiopia.

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, you need the backing, you need the backing industry, as I say, the finance industry, the investment community.

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And when everyone thinks it's not possible, you know, if they don't believe in your vision and dream, then it becomes very change becomes very difficult to make.

[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Because when we set up, when I set up Lovegrass before I even left my job in London, in Canary Wharf,

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_02]: I had clearly set the values. We call it now the three tenets of Lovegrass.

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Those tenets were, you know, can we produce outstanding products that the world would want to buy from us?

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Can we brand it? Can we can we tell our own marketing story and African and Ethiopian marketing story to the world?

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, can we work with local farmers and then just question the way things are done?

[00:15:10] [SPEAKER_02]: It's been done for a for millennia, for thousands of years.

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's just accepted as that is the only way to do things. No, you know, can you question it?

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Can you bring some change? Just perturb the way farmers or locals think about it.

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Can you bring or develop a product that can fight malnutrition,

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_02]: which is pretty much endemic in some parts of the country and that cannot be accepted as the norm?

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, these are things we set as very high value.

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_02]: But in the first place, if you think it cannot be changed or it cannot be done, then that's it.

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a self-defeating. So finding people and institutions to work with you who believe in this mission and vision,

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_02]: it's not just providing lip service, but actually backing up, you know, supports you.

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_02]: It hasn't been an easy one.

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_01]: But despite the challenges, as you mentioned, things are possible.

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_01]: But for you to achieve these possibilities in your line of work or business, you need access to farms, which is essential.

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER_01]: So what has been the process of forming, say,

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_01]: relationship with farmers and investing in farms in order to guarantee the consistent and good quality supply of TEF that you provide?

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I think this is probably where the benefit of being a diaspora is.

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think this probably speaks to most African diaspora around the world.

[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you have that intimate knowledge and understanding of the society you left behind.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not wasted. It's an incredibly valuable,

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_02]: transformative tool if you want to bring any change for the community and then to do something of value.

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_02]: For me, my understanding of the rural community, because I was one of them just as a child before I left Europe as a scholarship student,

[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_02]: it's incredibly valuable. You have good understanding.

[00:17:39] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you know, the nuances, the intricacies of what people mean, you know, the body

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_02]: talk that are going on and no, does not necessarily mean a no in some cases.

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_02]: It doesn't necessarily mean a yes, but you know it.

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, you grew up there and those things really matter.

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_02]: So the first thing I did when I went back there is to reconnect and then to really understand the supply chain of what was going on.

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Understanding what the real problem for the farming community is.

[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_02]: You can go there with no claiming that you know the solution, but the reality is you probably are missing it.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So you really have to have a good understanding.

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_02]: I personally used to go to something in the region of four or five hundred kilometers away from the capital city,

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER_02]: really, really rural areas and then spend time there and then see how people work,

[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_02]: how people live and what change, what difference you can make.

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_02]: This has been many years in the making, really, because traditionally a farmer produces

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_02]: and his little produce will be sold to a local businessman.

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, a lot of the farmers are actually literate.

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_02]: So the local businessman just gives them whatever his heart tells him is fair.

[00:19:17] [SPEAKER_02]: If it's 100 kilos of teff, the local businessman can say oh it's 95 or it's 90 kilo and the farmer will just accept that

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_02]: and receive the money and that local businessman will then sell the produce he collected

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_02]: to someone who has a truck to take it to the capital city.

[00:19:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And that truck driver or owner will take it to the capital city and sells the grain, the products to

[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_02]: there is a big market, it's called Markata, which is almost the norm really.

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_02]: The biggest open market in the country.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And then their big, very well established businessman will collect the teff and then they will sell it

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER_02]: to small mills dotted all around the capital city or in urban areas.

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_02]: You can just see the change, that chain has never been perturbed, it has never been disturbed

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_02]: and the farmer just accepts this as his fate.

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER_02]: He just has to produce and hand it over to the trader.

[00:20:24] [SPEAKER_02]: So you really have to understand all this and then see what value can you add to the farmer.

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_02]: What technology can we bring?

[00:20:33] [SPEAKER_02]: What logistics system we could do?

[00:20:36] [SPEAKER_02]: What investments specialised in selected seeds, even branding their produce.

[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's where it all started before we even start work on the factory.

[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_01]: You made an important point about the knowledge you bring from the diaspora is important.

[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_01]: What value would you say that you specifically have brought to the local agricultural environments that you're operating in?

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, that's a great question. Thank you for asking, because it's very close to my heart.

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you're right. I think the diaspora can unlock the potential.

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_02]: It has the potential to unlock what can be done in the continent, in my opinion,

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_02]: because we have a good understanding of what goes on.

[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Not everyone, of course, what goes on outside of the continent and for a country like Ethiopia,

[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_02]: that sort of exposure is to be treasured because especially Ethiopia hasn't been colonised

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_02]: and it's a very rugged landscape.

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And you may find some rural areas where they've hardly been ventured into, you know,

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_02]: hardly any form of technology or access to the outside world.

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_02]: It is very rare. So when you go there, of course, you have to be respectful of what's going on.

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But you can really bring a lot. You know where the world is going.

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, the global market trends and what goes on.

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_02]: So for me, when I go to the rural area, as I said, one of the three tenets of Lovegrass Ethiopia,

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_02]: our company when we started was to see what can we do to perturb the thought process,

[00:22:29] [SPEAKER_02]: kind of the way of doing things in the farming community.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_02]: So we engaged the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute.

[00:22:39] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a government institute, one of the oldest institutes in the country.

[00:22:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, kind of poorly funded, unfortunately, but there are lots of well-meaning researchers

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_02]: who have a lot of knowledge on what's going on around the country,

[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_02]: the different landscapes, you know, what can be produced and what can not.

[00:23:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So they know very well the local challenges.

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_02]: So the first thing I did was to actually connect with them and then explain to them my desires

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_02]: and what I would love to do with local farmers.

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Again, the biggest challenge was to win their trust because you see a lot of well-meaning charities

[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_02]: and people from Daspura, they go, they promise the world and never nothing materialize or not much gets achieved.

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_02]: There is this charity fatigue that goes on.

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I understand.

[00:23:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. So they were winning their trust wasn't an easy one.

[00:23:46] [SPEAKER_02]: But once they noticed and they realized what I have left behind, you know, my own background

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_02]: and I wasn't the kind who just give up and walk away a few years.

[00:24:02] [SPEAKER_02]: There's a lot of lots of camaraderie and really good understanding before we engaged the farmers.

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_02]: So then we realized, you know, the farmers need access to technology.

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_02]: You see, the biggest problem in my opinion is people, especially the decision makers,

[00:24:26] [SPEAKER_02]: the lack of understanding, should I say that farmers are just businessmen and women.

[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_02]: They are. They may be as a rural and as small.

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_02]: We can be, you know, we could be talking as a question of scale,

[00:24:40] [SPEAKER_02]: whether you use a tractor and combine our vessel or you are using box blow or doing it by hand, et cetera.

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_02]: At the end of the day, a farmer or a small, you know, a smallholder farmer in rural Africa simply uses land

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_02]: and uses his labor and whatever resource he has, finance he has and produces something

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_02]: and just brace and hopes that, you know, whatever he produces, it's him more money that has invested.

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_02]: And to me, that's a classic definition of a business person.

[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_02]: So farmers are just business people. And in a country like Ethiopia, which is an agrarian society,

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_02]: 75 percent of the population lives pretty much the way I just described.

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_02]: They are very, very small holding farming community.

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_02]: So the first thing is to understand what are they? They're just business people.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Business people require finance. OK, that is the fuel that if you want to bring any change,

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_02]: you have to be able to finance it. Coming up with an idea is one thing.

[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_02]: But if you cannot finance it, then just forget it.

[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_02]: So when I approach the farming community, the first thing we do is OK.

[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_02]: So first definition, why they're just business people and they require financing.

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_02]: They require technology, ideally a tractor harvesting machine so they don't have to do it by hand and they become more productive.

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_02]: They will need selected seeds.

[00:26:21] [SPEAKER_02]: They will need. Post-harvest losses technologies to reduce post-harvest losses,

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_02]: to be able to connect them to the market and to be able to brand their produce.

[00:26:33] [SPEAKER_02]: All these things cost. So we properly priced the initial seed capital that we require to be able to bring change.

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And also, the other thing one needs to be careful, you cannot change the world.

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to be able to work on a small model, on a small sample.

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what we did. We selected a very, very rural area.

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Three or a dozen regions of around 600 plus farmers.

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_02]: And then we started working with them and convincing them again that element of doubt always exists.

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_02]: So here we go, an outsider comes, talks, talks and then walks away.

[00:27:19] [SPEAKER_02]: So you have to win their trust. But of course, that's what we did.

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Now we bought the tractor. We provided selected seeds.

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we provided them with the kind of training they require.

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_02]: We employ agronomists, etc.

[00:27:38] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's how our engagement with the farming community started.

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_01]: What impact would you say the introduction of the technology that you've brought and the processes had on the productivity

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_01]: and also increased outputs on the farms that you operate?

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, well listen, I'm happy to report that just last year in the area that we worked,

[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_02]: again, we cannot take all the praise here, but the Agricultural Research Institute have been also instrumental.

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_02]: They've been really helpful of our effort in the area that we operate.

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_02]: The farmers used to produce around 1.4 tons per hectare with just a small activity that we have done so far.

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_02]: In one year they managed to increase that to 2.2 tons per hectare.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_02]: That is a huge upsideswing in productivity.

[00:28:39] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, can you imagine your salary literally doubling in a year?

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_02]: These are very, very small efforts, very small investment.

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_02]: But the plan, the model we are trying to develop and for me my dream is with that small scale investment

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_02]: in a very, very selected and well controlled environment, a small scale in a small area,

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_02]: if you can prove a workable model and that financially the financial wellbeing of those farmers can be improved,

[00:29:13] [SPEAKER_02]: which means they will have in our case for example just last year over 80% of additional increase in their income,

[00:29:22] [SPEAKER_02]: which means they can start to self-finance.

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER_02]: As I said, the initial silk capital may have come from us, but they will start to self-finance

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_02]: and hopefully microfinancing institutes and banks can be engaged because we can prove to them that look, farmers can yield, can produce more.

[00:29:42] [SPEAKER_02]: My dream, my hope is after a while why should the farmers sell just the grain they produce?

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Why don't they mill it and sell flour?

[00:29:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Why don't they put more value addition?

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Why don't they brand their produce instead of just driving it into a trader?

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_02]: They can brand it, they give it a name and who you know, God forbids, why not?

[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_02]: We could even create snacks out of it, breakfast cereal, pasta.

[00:30:12] [SPEAKER_02]: They can start selling value addition.

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean this is a model that I'm hoping that we can develop or at least continue trying to develop.

[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_01]: You've managed to add value to the products that you sell through Lovegrass Ethiopia,

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_01]: which has enabled you to successfully export products as well to UK and Europe.

[00:30:39] [SPEAKER_01]: So what has been the process of reaching some of those quite onerous quality control and standards that are required to export to Europe?

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Again, really a good question, because I can speak what I observe in Ethiopia,

[00:31:01] [SPEAKER_02]: but this is really pretty much the norm in the whole continent.

[00:31:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I think we set our standards quite low.

[00:31:11] [SPEAKER_02]: We have to learn to rise and then the expectation need to be so high, the quality expectation need to be so high.

[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's not just only around production here.

[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_02]: We're not really producing is one thing, I'm not saying it's an easy task,

[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_02]: but the whole marketing exercise, the branding exercise, the stories we tell, the relationships we build.

[00:31:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Nobody is going to be willing and just opening their markets around the world and say, oh yeah, bring it on.

[00:31:45] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll sell it here. No, I mean everybody will erect their trade barriers and protect their turf.

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And for an African manufacturer to be able to make it, it's tough enough being African.

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_02]: But if your quality standard is above and beyond what is produced in Europe,

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_02]: or at least as part of what's being produced in kind of the developed economies, then forget it.

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it just never work. As a matter of fact, this is a very important point.

[00:32:15] [SPEAKER_02]: My observation is a lot of people in the continent, people in Ethiopia, at least I can tell you for certain,

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_02]: people talk about import replacement.

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, even if you don't export, it will be good for import replacement.

[00:32:31] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I don't believe that model will work.

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_02]: The market, everybody, every country is opening its markets to the world.

[00:32:40] [SPEAKER_02]: If you cannot compete in a European market, you cannot compete in an African market.

[00:32:47] [SPEAKER_02]: The Chinese manufacturer can dump outstanding products to the African market

[00:32:52] [SPEAKER_02]: and it can also dump rubbish products to the African market.

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_02]: An African producer needs to be ready to set the standards high.

[00:33:02] [SPEAKER_02]: So high he or she will be able to compete in the developed market around the world.

[00:33:08] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I'm well aware of that. I mean, I had this feeling that is what we needed to do when I started Lovegrass Ethiopia.

[00:33:17] [SPEAKER_02]: So there was no cutting corners. We set out to be BRC certified.

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_02]: We set out to be kind of proudly Ethiopian business.

[00:33:30] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, no hiding that fact. We don't want to hide it.

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_02]: In fact, our own our own trading name, our brand is called Lovegrass Ethiopia.

[00:33:37] [SPEAKER_02]: It's in the brand. But having that name, as you know,

[00:33:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Ethiopia is not a wonderfully branded country when it comes to the health food market around the world.

[00:33:53] [SPEAKER_02]: So we needed our quality all to be above and beyond what's in the market.

[00:34:00] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's how we set out to be BRC standard, BRC certified to tell our own our own story.

[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Fully Ethiopian brand. In fact, in every package of our product we say proudly made in Ethiopia.

[00:34:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And people need to see value in it and to be incredibly consistent on quality.

[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_02]: No cutting corners. If you do that, you will get caught at some point.

[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's how we have managed to get to where we are so far.

[00:34:27] [SPEAKER_01]: That's great to hear. You touched on the production side.

[00:34:32] [SPEAKER_01]: I know your TEF is produced or processed in a factory in Addis that you built and own.

[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_01]: So what was the process of building the factory, you know, in terms of financing,

[00:34:44] [SPEAKER_01]: finding the right machinery and just the whole logistical movements as well?

[00:34:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, OK. So I mean, it hasn't been easy. So let me just start from there.

[00:34:54] [SPEAKER_02]: It hasn't been easy at all, partly because I mean, I'm not from the food industry.

[00:35:02] [SPEAKER_02]: As I said, I've been in banking, investment banking and the trading floors

[00:35:07] [SPEAKER_02]: or risk management area for what almost two decades.

[00:35:12] [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, kind of suddenly I am talking about the health food sector

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and a very, very incredibly competitive cereal market.

[00:35:25] [SPEAKER_02]: It is incredibly competitive. Where do you start?

[00:35:28] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, what is quality? What is good? What is in trend?

[00:35:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And you really have to just learn all the things you've learned so far and just start from scratch.

[00:35:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Where do you go for a machinery? For experts and nobody trusts you.

[00:35:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, here you are someone not from the food industry and no major banker or no major investor is behind you.

[00:35:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And you just tell investors or machine suppliers or technologists

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_02]: and until them all look, you know, there is this grain in Africa.

[00:36:07] [SPEAKER_02]: I want to produce amazing products and sell it to Whole Foods.

[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a joke. Nobody believes you. So it hasn't been an easy one.

[00:36:18] [SPEAKER_02]: There's been lots of day and night reading and figuring it out.

[00:36:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And yeah, trail by fire, all sorts of scarring tissues all over myself.

[00:36:34] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I lost track in there.

[00:36:37] [SPEAKER_02]: I tell you, I look back and some of the things I have done, I'm like, I cringe and my God, did I do that?

[00:36:43] [SPEAKER_02]: It's embarrassing.

[00:36:45] [SPEAKER_02]: So but, you know, when you have a clearly defined mission, something that so truly speaks to you,

[00:36:52] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, nothing stops you.

[00:36:55] [SPEAKER_02]: All those challenges. I mean, I do sometimes now when I look back and say, Oh my God,

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_02]: how was to restart again? Would I do it again?

[00:37:03] [SPEAKER_02]: It's incredible.

[00:37:04] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, so it hasn't been easy.

[00:37:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it safe to say that you control the full end-to-end supply value chain from farm to factory?

[00:37:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, it is.

[00:37:16] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, again, another challenge for a fellow diaspora who will attempt something like this

[00:37:26] [SPEAKER_02]: is the realization that we don't have a well-developed specialized businesses in the continent.

[00:37:34] [SPEAKER_02]: By and large, of course, there might be some markets that's different.

[00:37:39] [SPEAKER_02]: So if we submit for me, we started to say, OK, it has to be gluten free.

[00:37:46] [SPEAKER_02]: It has to be BRC certified, which means every supplier need to have a supplier approval program

[00:37:53] [SPEAKER_02]: that needs to pass our quality standard.

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And even if you meet a supplier or a miller or whatever, they don't want to open their books up for you.

[00:38:03] [SPEAKER_02]: They don't want you anywhere near.

[00:38:07] [SPEAKER_02]: So for me to get that trust, to build the trust that our products can go around the world

[00:38:16] [SPEAKER_02]: and proudly claim we are gluten free, we are all origin free.

[00:38:22] [SPEAKER_02]: I had to start working from the grassroots, as I said, from the farm.

[00:38:28] [SPEAKER_02]: We get the products directly into our warehouse from our own warehouse.

[00:38:33] [SPEAKER_02]: We have to clean it ourselves. We have to mill it ourselves.

[00:38:37] [SPEAKER_02]: We have to extrude it ourselves, package it ourselves, store it before it goes into the market.

[00:38:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Literally the entire chain you have to be able to handle.

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Otherwise, you've got that set-party dependency, which you have no control over.

[00:38:53] [SPEAKER_02]: So yes, you can say that.

[00:38:56] [SPEAKER_01]: With all the work you're doing from end to end, are there any specific government policies

[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_01]: that have played a key role in enabling you to do what you are doing?

[00:39:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Look, there is no government in the continent that doesn't want inward investment like this.

[00:39:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Everybody will say it at least.

[00:39:24] [SPEAKER_02]: But the rest is really up to you, to be perfectly honest.

[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_02]: You really have to make it happen.

[00:39:30] [SPEAKER_02]: If you want an easy ride where things are done for you, it will never happen.

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_02]: So I think if it does, if there is a lot of government state support,

[00:39:42] [SPEAKER_02]: regional authorities, unions, etc., if they support you, you're lucky.

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_02]: But the expectation needs to be managed there.

[00:39:54] [SPEAKER_02]: I think prepare yourself for pretty much having to do it yourself.

[00:39:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I can tell you, when we got the lease land,

[00:40:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I had to build the road over a kilometer to be able to access it.

[00:40:11] [SPEAKER_02]: I had to dig my own water supply.

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Lifting the whole infrastructure, the electricity supply, virtually everything.

[00:40:22] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to work day in and day out to make it happen.

[00:40:27] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not to blame governments, but they have a lot of priorities and lots of other issues.

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Although if you ask me, I would say manufacturing,

[00:40:37] [SPEAKER_02]: especially export manufacturing in agro-processing particularly,

[00:40:41] [SPEAKER_02]: because the continent is agrarian really by and large.

[00:40:45] [SPEAKER_02]: So it needs to be given a serious priority, in my opinion,

[00:40:51] [SPEAKER_02]: if we are to bring any form of change in that continent.

[00:40:55] [SPEAKER_02]: Again, I speak about the continent, by the way, because it does.

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Whatever I experience in Ethiopia, it's pretty much the same experience around the continent.

[00:41:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And for an agrarian continent, if you don't agro-process, if you don't value add,

[00:41:13] [SPEAKER_02]: if you don't tell your own marketing story, if you don't reach the world with value added proper work,

[00:41:21] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know what kind of change can come.

[00:41:25] [SPEAKER_02]: So priorities need to be given.

[00:41:28] [SPEAKER_02]: By the way, a lot of people say, oh, the government does this, does that,

[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_02]: give priorities to this sector, etc.

[00:41:35] [SPEAKER_02]: The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_02]: If we don't see a lot of agro-processers in that continent,

[00:41:42] [SPEAKER_02]: it's because it's not an attractive area.

[00:41:45] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to make it attractive.

[00:41:47] [SPEAKER_02]: If it is attractive, the business community will fly in.

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_02]: The entrepreneurs always go where they follow the path of least resistance

[00:42:00] [SPEAKER_02]: and that can be seen about businesses generally.

[00:42:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So that is a sector that just needs to be supported, in my opinion.

[00:42:09] [SPEAKER_01]: I agree.

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_01]: So if we move from internal government support and look at external factors,

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_01]: I know the last few years have been interesting for all of us.

[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_01]: We've had to contend with the likes of COVID, to the Russia-Ukraine conflict,

[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_01]: to the global economic downturn.

[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_01]: How has that impacted the work you're doing from the inputs to also the outputs?

[00:42:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, that's such an important topic.

[00:42:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But one thing is for sure, again, for me when things go tough,

[00:42:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I go back to the mission, I go back to the vision and I just cannot let go.

[00:42:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I cannot fail so many people that depend on it or that I promise change will come

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_02]: because of this process or that.

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_02]: As you say, the last few years have been traumatic.

[00:43:06] [SPEAKER_02]: During COVID time, we were just about to install our machinery.

[00:43:11] [SPEAKER_02]: It was imported, it was sitting in a container and then the whole thing just shut down.

[00:43:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Technicians cannot come from the UK, from South Africa, Turkey.

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_02]: These were people who were supposed to install the factory and train our team.

[00:43:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And nobody can travel.

[00:43:26] [SPEAKER_02]: It's been traumatic and you cannot fire your team because technicians are not going to come

[00:43:32] [SPEAKER_02]: and install it, you have to keep on paying stuff.

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_02]: It hasn't been an easy one but you just have to keep positive.

[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_02]: The journey of an entrepreneur is a journey of longevity.

[00:43:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Just stay one more day, one more night longer.

[00:43:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Stick with it, just one more day.

[00:43:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Survive one more day and the sun comes out and the good times come back again

[00:44:01] [SPEAKER_02]: and the energy comes back anyway.

[00:44:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, it hasn't been easy but we're still around and we're thriving.

[00:44:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Did you have to significantly change your business model as a consequence of any of these factors?

[00:44:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, yes.

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_02]: As I said, I was not from this industry, the food industry or manufacturing.

[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I knew nothing about manufacturing.

[00:44:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Nothing.

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So the only thing we haven't changed is the text, the mission that I wrote,

[00:44:36] [SPEAKER_02]: the three tenets of lovegrass.

[00:44:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Can we brand manufacturing Ethiopia, use an Ethiopian raw material

[00:44:44] [SPEAKER_02]: and tell an Ethiopian story and bring our products to the world?

[00:44:49] [SPEAKER_02]: That is the first one.

[00:44:51] [SPEAKER_02]: The second one is can we work with rural farmers

[00:44:56] [SPEAKER_02]: and then work on a model that can bring something different,

[00:45:02] [SPEAKER_02]: something better, more productive way of doing things or seeing things

[00:45:06] [SPEAKER_02]: and just perturb the way they think.

[00:45:09] [SPEAKER_02]: That is the second one.

[00:45:10] [SPEAKER_02]: The third one is this nutrition, fighting malnutrition.

[00:45:14] [SPEAKER_02]: We have developed a product called Birtu which means strength or stamina

[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_02]: in the Ethiopian local language.

[00:45:21] [SPEAKER_02]: This is sachets imitating a local powdered beverage called Verso.

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_02]: It's full of vitamins.

[00:45:29] [SPEAKER_02]: This is a protein shake basically, full of all essential vitamins and amino acids.

[00:45:34] [SPEAKER_02]: This is fortified.

[00:45:36] [SPEAKER_02]: And all you need to do is when you have water, you just mix it,

[00:45:40] [SPEAKER_02]: hydrate it and drink it,

[00:45:41] [SPEAKER_02]: and then your body has all your essential vitamins, minerals, proteins.

[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_02]: So across these whole three tenets that we set out to achieve,

[00:45:51] [SPEAKER_02]: they remain intact.

[00:45:52] [SPEAKER_02]: That doesn't change.

[00:45:54] [SPEAKER_02]: But the way we go there, oh my God,

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I have changed so many ways of doing things.

[00:46:02] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, it has moved on.

[00:46:03] [SPEAKER_01]: I totally understand.

[00:46:05] [SPEAKER_01]: It's clear that you've gained a wealth of knowledge from your experience.

[00:46:09] [SPEAKER_01]: What tips would you give to someone who is involved in agriculture on the continent

[00:46:15] [SPEAKER_01]: and they potentially have ambitions of scaling

[00:46:18] [SPEAKER_01]: and hopefully doing what you have done

[00:46:21] [SPEAKER_01]: and being able to export to international markets?

[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think a lot of people have already talked about it,

[00:46:28] [SPEAKER_02]: but I think you have to aim very, very high,

[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_02]: very, very high standards in terms of quality,

[00:46:37] [SPEAKER_02]: in terms of messaging.

[00:46:39] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to have very, very big objectives and high aims.

[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_02]: But also the ways of knowledge out there is just incredible.

[00:46:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I read non-stop day in, day out,

[00:46:54] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, all the difference.

[00:46:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, right now it's about scaling.

[00:46:57] [SPEAKER_02]: How do you scale?

[00:46:58] [SPEAKER_02]: How do you bring in talent?

[00:47:01] [SPEAKER_02]: You cannot do it on your own.

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_02]: You have to have good people around.

[00:47:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I've been fortunate to be surrounded with some extraordinary people

[00:47:10] [SPEAKER_02]: who just genuinely believe on the mission of what we are trying to achieve.

[00:47:15] [SPEAKER_02]: So believe that you have to aim high.

[00:47:18] [SPEAKER_02]: You're not competing in your little market.

[00:47:20] [SPEAKER_02]: You are competing across the globe.

[00:47:23] [SPEAKER_02]: A Chinese manufacturer can dump his or her product in your local little market.

[00:47:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So aim really high, especially if you want to export your produce.

[00:47:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And one of the biggest things also for me,

[00:47:36] [SPEAKER_02]: the latest on our land is try to be quite strategic.

[00:47:40] [SPEAKER_02]: In a sense, you may not be able to compete with the big players

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_02]: in a very obvious way.

[00:47:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Find a niche area where you have a fighting chance

[00:47:51] [SPEAKER_02]: of accessing, maybe serving your community who live abroad

[00:47:58] [SPEAKER_02]: or maybe a product that exists in your local area

[00:48:04] [SPEAKER_02]: and not in any other parts of the world.

[00:48:05] [SPEAKER_02]: There's plenty of produce like that in the continent, by the way.

[00:48:09] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, some special message, messaging, branding, by the way,

[00:48:12] [SPEAKER_02]: some stories you want to tell, you want to share to the world

[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_02]: and some niche areas like that that could help you grow.

[00:48:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And once you do that, then you can expand the envelope

[00:48:24] [SPEAKER_02]: and then go into bigger markets.

[00:48:27] [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of things to say in this area. It's a very good question.

[00:48:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I can imagine.

[00:48:32] [SPEAKER_01]: During the conversation, we've talked at length about your journey and experience.

[00:48:38] [SPEAKER_01]: If we look outside of that at the wider environment,

[00:48:43] [SPEAKER_01]: are there any trends in Ethiopia's agriculture sector

[00:48:46] [SPEAKER_01]: that you're seeing that you're currently excited about?

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, what makes me excited?

[00:48:53] [SPEAKER_02]: I do get to travel in the continent generally now, not just in Ethiopia.

[00:48:58] [SPEAKER_02]: What makes me really, really excited, honestly,

[00:49:01] [SPEAKER_02]: is just the energy of the youth, the desire to change

[00:49:06] [SPEAKER_02]: and the desire to bring something new for themselves, for their community.

[00:49:12] [SPEAKER_02]: You did ask me about agriculture.

[00:49:13] [SPEAKER_02]: As I mentioned earlier, I think the Ethiopian farmer,

[00:49:19] [SPEAKER_02]: the rural residents, it needs new ideas, new thoughts,

[00:49:25] [SPEAKER_02]: new investments and new models to be developed.

[00:49:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Things need to be questioned constantly.

[00:49:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And the youths are ready for it.

[00:49:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Even those who I always question, as I started this interview,

[00:49:42] [SPEAKER_02]: I always question nonstop.

[00:49:47] [SPEAKER_02]: The youths are ready to listen to hear what they need is to see the model,

[00:49:51] [SPEAKER_02]: a model in their own environment, in their own locality,

[00:49:54] [SPEAKER_02]: in their own space, a model being developed.

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And then they see it.

[00:50:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Initially, when I talk about Lovegrass and when I say,

[00:50:03] [SPEAKER_02]: we want to tell our own story market,

[00:50:06] [SPEAKER_02]: we want to go around, we want to brand our own stuff,

[00:50:09] [SPEAKER_02]: the factory is going to be 100% locals being trained,

[00:50:13] [SPEAKER_02]: which it is by the way.

[00:50:15] [SPEAKER_02]: It was all like, right, you know, don't give up,

[00:50:18] [SPEAKER_02]: right, yeah, good luck.

[00:50:19] [SPEAKER_02]: But now they see it, you know, it can be done and they use the energy.

[00:50:24] [SPEAKER_02]: It's just incredible, the use of technology.

[00:50:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So I think it's tapping into that energy

[00:50:33] [SPEAKER_02]: and then showing by developing a model that works.

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it gives me a lot of hope.

[00:50:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that.

[00:50:41] [SPEAKER_01]: So if we move from current trends and look at the future,

[00:50:45] [SPEAKER_01]: where do you see Ethiopia or Africa's agriculture sector in five years' time?

[00:50:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Are we going to see more productivity, easier ways of doing business?

[00:50:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Where do you see it going?

[00:51:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think we need to rethink a lot of what we have believed

[00:51:06] [SPEAKER_02]: is our way for the future and for the youth.

[00:51:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Allow me to explain what I mean by that.

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Because when I grew up, Ethiopian coffee, it was our number one asset.

[00:51:16] [SPEAKER_02]: We talked about coffee, coffee, sesame, et cetera, et cetera, which is fine.

[00:51:22] [SPEAKER_02]: That is one competitive advantage.

[00:51:27] [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, the world has moved on.

[00:51:30] [SPEAKER_02]: The youths are capable of doing way more.

[00:51:33] [SPEAKER_02]: In fact, I can even say, I can even go as far as to say,

[00:51:36] [SPEAKER_02]: we don't have to even focus on what we have done in the past.

[00:51:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And this is a continent that passed the industrial age and the electronic age.

[00:51:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Now we're just sitting there and letting the information age pass us by.

[00:51:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think even agriculture, in a sense, we need to find niche areas.

[00:52:00] [SPEAKER_02]: What can we export? What value can you add?

[00:52:04] [SPEAKER_02]: Technology is a great enabler in all this.

[00:52:07] [SPEAKER_02]: And when I say technology, I don't just necessarily mean information technology.

[00:52:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Manufacturing technology has evolved and providing access to that.

[00:52:15] [SPEAKER_02]: And how can we transform, say, what we produce?

[00:52:19] [SPEAKER_02]: How can we pack it?

[00:52:21] [SPEAKER_02]: How can we brand it?

[00:52:22] [SPEAKER_02]: How can we reach out to the world?

[00:52:25] [SPEAKER_02]: We need to think slightly different.

[00:52:27] [SPEAKER_02]: By just going around the way with them,

[00:52:30] [SPEAKER_02]: certainly 40 years, whatever, when I was a little boy,

[00:52:35] [SPEAKER_02]: doing the same product again and talking about the same product again and again,

[00:52:40] [SPEAKER_02]: change ought to come.

[00:52:41] [SPEAKER_02]: We need to think slightly differently.

[00:52:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that. I agree.

[00:52:46] [SPEAKER_01]: If we look closer to home, where do you see yourself?

[00:52:49] [SPEAKER_01]: You have been a farmer for five years.

[00:52:50] [SPEAKER_01]: You love grass and love grass Ethiopia in five years time.

[00:52:52] [SPEAKER_01]: What role do you hope to play in Ethiopia's agricultural space?

[00:52:58] [SPEAKER_02]: There is a lot of hope.

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER_02]: We've got lots of products we have started bringing to the world.

[00:53:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And we're developing more products, a lot of fascinating ingredients,

[00:53:12] [SPEAKER_02]: just incredible ingredients that we could use.

[00:53:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Of course, we don't just sell those raw ingredients.

[00:53:17] [SPEAKER_02]: We want to value add them and bring amazing products more and more to the world.

[00:53:23] [SPEAKER_02]: For love grass, as you know, we're winning awards.

[00:53:26] [SPEAKER_02]: It's just a few weeks ago we've been awarded gold medal, silver medal.

[00:53:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.

[00:53:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And now for our breakfast cereal creations,

[00:53:37] [SPEAKER_02]: our Allergen Free Breakfast Cereal Award was here in London, by the way,

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_02]: free from food competition.

[00:53:43] [SPEAKER_02]: We're in Europe and we want to expand that in mainland Europe.

[00:53:48] [SPEAKER_02]: We haven't even touched the Americas just yet.

[00:53:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Asia is equally the same.

[00:53:55] [SPEAKER_02]: And of course, these things require a lot of investment.

[00:53:58] [SPEAKER_02]: The whole project so far has been self-financed.

[00:54:01] [SPEAKER_02]: I've been in a fortunate position to be able to self-finance

[00:54:05] [SPEAKER_02]: and also bootstrap it to where we are now.

[00:54:08] [SPEAKER_02]: But scaling up requires a lot of financing.

[00:54:10] [SPEAKER_02]: So, you know, we're looking for external financing as well.

[00:54:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But I think another exciting thing is in Cairo in November,

[00:54:20] [SPEAKER_02]: I was in Cairo in the IHF Inter-Africa Trade Fair in November.

[00:54:26] [SPEAKER_02]: It was just amazing meeting all those African businesses

[00:54:31] [SPEAKER_02]: in one space, in one exhibition.

[00:54:35] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, seeing the similarities of our challenges

[00:54:38] [SPEAKER_02]: and our development stages and then sharing our different ways of doing things.

[00:54:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And then what fascinated me is really, I mean, I should know this better,

[00:54:51] [SPEAKER_02]: being the age that I am.

[00:54:54] [SPEAKER_02]: But here just across the border, you know, in Kenya, for example,

[00:54:58] [SPEAKER_02]: or in Uganda, in the DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania.

[00:55:05] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, this is a huge market, huge market.

[00:55:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And a lot of their products come from the UK.

[00:55:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And here I am trying to export my products from Ethiopia to the UK.

[00:55:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And then across the border, Kenyans are getting it from there.

[00:55:19] [SPEAKER_02]: It's really, really bizarre setup.

[00:55:22] [SPEAKER_02]: So the continent is with all its challenges.

[00:55:26] [SPEAKER_02]: This is a huge opportunity for manufacturers, huge opportunity.

[00:55:32] [SPEAKER_02]: So for Lamgrac, Ethiopia, that's our next frontier.

[00:55:36] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we want to, we're working on opening our branch in Nairobi, in Kenya,

[00:55:42] [SPEAKER_02]: to be able to serve that East African community.

[00:55:46] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, there's a lot of exciting journey ahead.

[00:55:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Brilliant and I look forward to seeing how that develops.

[00:55:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you. Thank you.

[00:55:56] [SPEAKER_01]: As people, we often have quotes, mantras, proverbs or affirmations

[00:56:01] [SPEAKER_01]: that keep us going when times are challenging or when times are good.

[00:56:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have one that you can share with us today?

[00:56:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Cool. Nothing that comes to mind.

[00:56:11] [SPEAKER_02]: But the one thing, my one lesson I would say,

[00:56:15] [SPEAKER_02]: is just have something that speaks to you above and beyond money

[00:56:20] [SPEAKER_02]: and other material things.

[00:56:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Have something that so truly speaks to you in your heart of hearts

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_02]: and then just wakes you up during the night.

[00:56:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And if you have that, in all the different day-to-day challenges,

[00:56:35] [SPEAKER_02]: you see where you just bump on the road, you'll just pass it.

[00:56:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Otherwise, yeah, no, it's not an easy journey.

[00:56:45] [SPEAKER_02]: So make sure you have something that speaks to you truly.

[00:56:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I agree. I agree.

[00:56:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And that is a fantastic way to close today's conversation.

[00:56:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Jonas, thank you.

[00:56:56] [SPEAKER_01]: It's been an extremely enlightening and educational discussion.

[00:57:01] [SPEAKER_01]: And I think from what we've discussed today,

[00:57:03] [SPEAKER_01]: it's clear that you're doing some wonderful things

[00:57:06] [SPEAKER_01]: that are much needed on the continent.

[00:57:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And I also hope today's discussion has inspired other entrepreneurs

[00:57:14] [SPEAKER_01]: who have ambitions of growing sustainable businesses,

[00:57:19] [SPEAKER_01]: such as yourself, to go out and do it.

[00:57:22] [SPEAKER_01]: So thank you for your time. It's been a great discussion.

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And I look forward to keeping in contact,

[00:57:29] [SPEAKER_01]: keeping updated in terms of the progress you make in the near future.

[00:57:32] [SPEAKER_01]: We will do. Thank you so much, Telsy.

[00:57:35] [SPEAKER_02]: You're doing an amazing job.

[00:57:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think the possibilities are infinite out there

[00:57:40] [SPEAKER_02]: for a lot of people who don't know what they can use.

[00:57:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much.

[00:57:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I agree. And thank you for your time, Jonas.

[00:57:46] [SPEAKER_01]: It has been a pleasure.

[00:57:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Cheers.

[00:57:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you to everyone who has listened and stayed tuned to the podcast.

[00:57:54] [SPEAKER_01]: If you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share or tell a friend about it.

[00:57:59] [SPEAKER_01]: You can also rate review us in Apple Podcasts

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[00:58:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you and see you next week for the Unlocking Africa podcast.