Green Tech Africa, a pioneer in the electronic vehicle (EV) supply space embarks in producing professionals on new type of vehicles in Ethiopia to elevate the gap seen in the market.
The company that introduced the supply of EV about a year ago with six different models has provided training to 25 young technicians in collaboration with a vocational college of the SOS Children’s Village NGO.
According to the green firm, the major objective of the training was to provide an inclusive training for young auto technicians to fill the gap that is seen in the sector.
Kidem Tesfaye, CEO of Green Tech Africa, said that the EV technology is not only for Ethiopia but it is new for the world. Due to that, there is a gap in skilled labour which is required in supporting and maintaining the cars after sales.
As a result the company paired up with the SOS Children’s Village to produce mechanics specialized on EV.
As Kidem explains, the initiative has triangular goals in mind, including; producing skilled labour on the sector, creating jobs and expanding entrepreneurship for young Ethiopians.
“By profession, the newly trained individuals graduated from different universities in motor and related engineering fields but currently in the country majority of the training is theoretical as opposed to hands on due in availability of the machines,” he elaborated adding, “We provided a high end job training for three months at the facility in SOS vocational college.”
He said that Green Tech Africa is in the final stage to commence a car assembly locally due to that some of the current certified students and upcoming trainers shall be absorbed in the assembly line and after sales service at the company or invest by themselves to support the demand in the market.
According to the plan, the company and the NGO that has a good reputation in Ethiopia will produce more than 300 professionals in the sector every year.
“Currently we have about 30 students in the second batch that will graduate within two months,” Kidem pointed out.
“The training focused in detail on maintenance of electronic device, battery cell, mechanical devise and components that will create confidence and trust for consumers,” he added.
As an entrepreneurship scheme, the company has designed EV clinics that will be open in different corners of the city and country, “Interested professionals, shall have the liberty to support customers at the EV clinic platforms.”
According to Fitsum Deressa, General Manager of GreenTech Ethiopia, which is the Ethiopian wing of Green Tech of Africa, said that the vehicles supplied to the market have a big market acceptance, while there is a gap in terms of technicians due to that the company decided to train capable professionals for free to fill the gap.
He said that at the current stage his company is strong on providing after sales service with skilled labour, while the market on EV is swiftly growing that needs ample professionals, ”Thus we are working to provide experts on the sector that are trained by qualified professionals, which come from local and international partners.”
He said that currently besides his company, different suppliers are hugely importing EVs, “So the trained professionals shall support the sector in general not only the cars that are imported via Green Tech.”
Hailu Abebe, Professor at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, who is regarded as one of the pioneer on providing training on EV and lead instructor on the initiative embarked by Green Tech Africa and SOS, said that even though there is minor training on EV in some higher education in Ethiopia, it is limited on theoretical areas.
“The current technicians are mainly trained on traditional fuel vehicles but EVs have new technologies to which there is a gap on our technicians’ side. Thus, they have to have additional training to fill their limitations,” Hailu said.
Regarding the new scheme he said that about 80 percent of the new training initiative is focused on practical programs that shall be differ from the program designed in higher educations and shall give in detail knowledge to create confidence in professionals and customers.
Fitsum said that Green Tech Ethiopia is on the final stage to commence the assembly of EV and solar energy products.
He said that disassembled EVs that will be assembled locally have arrived in Djibouti port. So far in the past less than a year the company has supplied about 500 EVs and the feedback from consumers has been resoundingly positive.
As Kidem informs Capital, the assembly plant that was erected at Sendafa, 40km north east of Addis Ababa is set to commence operation in three months time.

The sole multimodal operator, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL) steps up to make the Gelan Terminal a Roll-on/roll-off(RoRo) hub with a project connecting the Ethio-Djibouti Railway (EDR) line.
The terminal that was established in 2014 is currently operating as an exclusive vehicle handling facility, while the new design to make it a hub is expected to boost the handling capacity and operation to another level.
Mihretab Teklu, Deputy CEO for Port Terminal Service at ESL, said that the Gelan RoRo Terminal that is located about 25km east of Addis Ababa is expected to be a hub for RoRo cargos with in the coming couple of years.
“As per our design we are demanding to make the terminal to expand the handling capacity and to double from the current stage in the process,” he told Capital.
“At the current level, the facility has a capacity to handle up to 550 vehicles at a time, which is determined by the size of cars, but nonetheless the handling shall consider the through put of incoming and release of cargos,” he added.
He added that some other dry ports like Mojo, the biggest terminal, are handling incoming vehicle cargos at limited levels, “There will be an opportunity to include all incoming RoRo cargos at the new sufficient hub, which may support the multimodal service and cars that come through uni-modal process that are imported excluding ESL.”
“The major operation to transform the terminal into a hub is stretching a railway line that may connect with the EDR main line,” Mihretab explained.
According to the Deputy CEO, the terminal is about 10 km far from the main railway line.
Gelan was designed to manage container cargos while the infrastructure was not suitable to manage machines, due to that the facility was exclusively designed to handle vehicle cargos that come through multimodal and uni-modal.
“In the future we are targeting to change it to RoRo hub that shall handle car cargos with massive capacity under swift operations,” the Deputy CEO said.
Currently, the facility has utilized about 23 hectares.
“We have additional 15 hectares that has not been developed, so we have targeted to develop is with multipurpose warehouses that may manage bulk cargos,” he explained.
The railway line that passed through Endode Terminal, which is around Gelan area, shall be connected with the hub to create accessibility for vehicles that come through train.
“Connecting the railway line with Gelan will have an economic value and add efficiency to our operation,” he said, adding, “Currently; our experts with their counterparts at EDR are undertaking a study to connect the line. The first dray has been accomplished and it will be finalized in the near future.”
The Deputy CEO shared insights stating that at the beginning the railway project was considered to pass through economic hubs like dry port, industry parks and other but that was not done, “We had handled the project to connect the railway line with Mojo and Dire Dawa dry port.”
He said that connecting the Gelan facility with the main railway line will be a huge investment, “But if we have connections with the line, our handling capacity will be boosted and the comparative advantage to that degree will be significant.”
“Now we are focusing on finalizing the detailed study and we expect to make applicable implementations after two years,” he added.
In August 2022, EDR embarked on an eco-friendly vehicle cargo transporting operation, while the service was done up to Endode Terminal. The cargos were expected to be transported to Gelan through trucks, which is expensive as per the explanation of the Deputy CEO for Port Terminal Service at ESL.
EDR has 20 wagons that can transport about 240 vehicles in a single fleet. A single wagon can carry up to 14 vehicles and the number depends on the size of the vehicles.
Similarly, ELS has also bought 17 car carriers that are transporting vehicles from the ports in Djibouti to the center.
ESL has eight dry ports and terminal and two more will be added in the near future.
In related developments, the terminal that is located in Mekele 783 km north of Addis Ababa resumed operation as of Thursday May 4, after almost three years of interruptions because of the conflict that transpired in northern Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Airlines Group inaugurates the second phase of the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, the by a mile largest in continent.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), Mamo Mihretu, governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia, and Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, among many other high-level officials, attended the hotel’s grand opening ceremony held on Friday May 5, 2023.
The expansion of the project cost USD 155 million which is said to make Skylight hotel the biggest in Africa, according to the CEO.

“Skylight Hotel has been providing a wide range of luxury experiences to its guests and with the completion of the second phase more five-star facilities and experiences will be available. We can now proudly say that we have the largest hotel in the African continent,” said Mesfin Tasew.
Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, stands within a prime location at just 5 minute walk from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
In January 2019, Ethiopian Airlines launched the first phase of the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel which cost 65 million dollars. The hotel currently boasts a total of 1,024 contemporary rooms additional to the new 651 rooms, and suites of various accommodation types,

including fully equipped flats suited for both long and short-term stays, thanks to the recent enlargement. The hotel also includes 19 food and beverage outlets, including Ethiopian, Italian, Arabian, and Asian restaurants, coffee houses, bars, recreational facilities, and spots for sips or hand-crafted cocktails with a panoramic view of the airport and the city.
The second phase of the project was under construction while the hotel’s facilities were accessible and available to visitors via the first phase of the Ethiopian Skylight facility. The construction took three years. Terminal Hotel in September 2022, which is managed by Ethiopian Skylight Hotel and is also set to take passengers’ transit experience at Ababa Bole International Airport to a whole new level with 97 modern and luxurious rooms, a restaurant, a meeting space, and other facilities within the airport Departure Terminal 2.

54 Capital FMCG Group of companies, manufacturer of Tena Edible Oils, 555 and Aura Soap & Detergents, and Chef Luca wheat products change its corporate brand to SAMANU.
“SAMANU’s logo inspiration is taken from the source of life of the Abay River and mirrors our corporate root in Ethiopia and strong commitment to growth,” said Joachim Yebouet, Chief Executive Officer of the company, adding, “Our vision is to step towards our vision of improving the livelihoods of Ethiopians by leveraging and developing Ethiopian resources.”
54 FMCG, business group in Ethiopia began operation in 2013 through an investment in a small refinery and quickly expanded into other FMCG products.

“We now have some of the most iconic local FMCG brands, making us the fastest growing conglomerate in Ethiopia. Today 54 FMCG is home to several notable FMCG brands such as Tena Edible Oil, 555 Household Care, Chef Luca Pasta and Aqua safe Natural Mineral Water,” the CEO highlighted indicating that Samanu plans on taking ambitious steps to further expand its portfolio through investments in direct manufacturing and the vertical integration of its businesses.
Recently the company announced a USD 21 million growth capital investment in Ethiopia from Norfund, a Norwegian investment fund focused on building sustainable businesses and industries in developing countries, to increase local production of edible oil and expanding into agro-processing that will create jobs, increase food security, and provide income for up to 200,000 smallholder farmers.