The Ethiopian premier league season resumes over the weekend after a three weeks break due to international fixtures. As of the 17th week fixtures Adama University is the new venue for the next six rounds.
Surprise package Ethiopia Insurance (Medin) entertains relegation strugglers Arbaminch Ketema tomorrow. Taking the league by storm in its first season back to the top tier, Medin is currently sitting third in the table collecting 30 points from 16 fixtures while Arbaminch is 14th in the roster with just 18 points.
One win and one defeat in the past five matches, Gebremedin Haile’s side appeared to be in a slowdown thus a five point difference from the leaders Kidus Giorgis. A single win and five draws in the past six matches, Arbaminch boss Mesay Teferi is under pressure to lead the boat out of the sinking water.
Four defeats from the past five matches Diredawa boss Yordanos Abay travels to Adama to battle for his life as well for the team currently sitting three points above relegation zone. Diredawa’s adversary is Legetafo Ketema, the side dwelling rock bottom of the table with six points. A new boss in the form of no patience Zemariam W/Giorgis, Legetafo is to show off its three foreign imports for the first time. It is a huge showdown for Zemariam and his squad for a win could mean a stepping stone for a brighter future for the side.
Second in the table Baherdar Ketema is into a head on clash against Wolkite Ketema on Tuesday. One win and three draws in the past five matches, Baherdar is five points behind the league leaders therefore a must win clash with 11th in the table with 21 points Wolikite Ketema.
Kidus Giorgis one man strike force Ismael Ouro Agoro leads the top scorers’ roster with 16 goals while Wolkite front man Getaneh Kebede second with 12 goals followed by Diredawa target man Binyam Getachew with eight goals.
Ethiopian Premier League is back over the weekend at Adama University Stadium
Berhanu Gebremichael
Name: Berhanu Gebremichael
Education: MA in Development Studies
Company name: Conovation Entrepreneurship Development PLC
Title: CEO
Founded in: 2015
What it do: Training, Mentorship/Coach, Acceleration/Incubation, Research and Innovation
Hq: Woreda 02, Lemi Kura Sub City, Addis Ababa
Number of Employees: 20
Startup capital: 16,000 birr
Current Capital: Growing
Reason for starting the Business: Supporting startups and innovation
Biggest perk of ownership: Social Housing Realstate
Biggest strength: Entrepreneurial competences
Biggest challenge: Multiple interventions
Plan: Creating equitable regional economies
First career: University lecturer
Most interested in meeting: Sharing experience
Most admired person: My dad
Stress reducer: Instrumental music
Favorite past time: Watching football
Favorite book: Animal Farm
Favorite destination: Roskilde, Denmark
Favorite automobile: Fiat 500x
Looking ahead
While we normally concentrate on what we are doing today, the fact that our environment and the conditions we work in are constantly changing, requires us to pay attention not only to improving our present operations but also to designing for the future. In other words, we must have two strategies operating at once. We must allow the past and the future to coexist in the present as few business owners have the luxury of being able to shut down their business while they transform it. This is like rewiring a house, while leaving the electricity on. There is some danger but if you want electricity throughout the changeover period, you have little choice. The road to the future begins by improving that which already exists or making the company as good as it can possibly be at servicing its present customers in the present market. Answering the following sets of may help questions:
The customer:
- Who are your present customers and why do they buy from you instead of your competitors?
- Are the needs of the customers changing and if so, what is driving those changes?
- How can you use those changes to your advantage?
The competition:
- Who are your present competitors and why do customers choose them over you?
- Are the rules of engagement changing and if so, what is driving those changes?
- How can you use those changes to your advantage?
The company:
If your present customers were to redesign our company, what would they turn it into?
How can you use the latest technological advances to your advantage?
How can you strengthen your relationships with your key customers, suppliers, and business partners?
In studying these questions and trying to make sense of the answers you are in fact developing a new vision for the future and prepare the company for how it can get there.
An organization that still resembles the past must generate a vision of the kind of organization you now want it to become. What exactly is that vision? Defining the purpose of the organization may help. What is the business you are really in?
Your business should be defined, not in terms of the product or service you offer but in terms of what customer need your product or service fulfils. While products come and go, basic needs of customers remain, for example the need for communication, transportation, food, etc. The description of the market need should be broad, rather than narrow. If for example the weekly newspaper that we are reading only thinks of its business as printing and selling the newspaper every week, it may begin losing business fast while the ICT world around it is developing at a staggering pace. But when the company’s purpose is defined as providing up to date news to the public, it widens its horizon, and may include other ways of reaching its customers like a website, social networks etc. Here follow some examples of product-based versus customer-based definitions:
Product-based
- Telephone company
- Running an airline
- Printing newspapers
- Generating electricity
- Selling airline tickets
Customer-based
- Provider of communications
- Transporting people and goods
- News provider
- Providing clean and affordable energy
- Providing travel services
Thinking about purpose instead of about a specific product helps us to expand our horizon. Regardless of the product, people will always have certain needs. We do not want to get caught in producing a product or service that people no longer want. When you think “What business am I in?”, ask yourself:
- What are our principle products or services?
- What are some possible substitutes for these?
- Why do customers buy these products or services?
- What are the principle benefits they expect from these purchases?
Once you have clarified customers’ needs, you can think about how you have shaped or will shape the organization to meet these needs.
Back to the realization above that, while designing for the future we must continue to pay attention to improving our present operations. This is a real point of concern in Ethiopia as I often notice that while something new is being introduced and while the new product or service is not yet fully worked out, tested and functional, the “old” product or service is suddenly ignored. Meanwhile products and services leave much to be desired and customers suffer. In a competitive environment some companies would soon be out of business indeed.
Ton Haverkort
Reference: “Mission Possible” by Ken Blanchard and Terry Waghorn.
Rolls-Royce rolls in Africa
Rolls-Royce pioneers sustainable technologies that deliver the cleanest, safest and most competitive solutions for our planet’s vital power needs. Many can be forgiven for associating Rolls-Royce with the British luxury car manufacturer.
But, with more than 16,400 aero-engines in service worldwide, Rolls-Royce has grown from the electrical and mechanical business established by Henry Royce in 1884. The car company was sold in 1990, and today BMW holds the rights to the name and marque for use on their luxury Rolls Royce Motor Cars.
Today Rolls Royce Group is a Global technology company built on three strong and complimentary business units-Civil Aerospace, Defense and Power Systems.
The Power Systems business, now called Rolls-Royce Solutions, was acquired by Rolls Royce Group fully in 2014. Power Systems is a leading provider of high-speed and medium-speed reciprocating engines, complete propulsion systems and distributed energy solutions.
Rolls-Royce believes that Africa is on target to become the first continent in the world to grow its economy solely through modern technologies and sustainable low carbon energy sources.
According to Tobias Hoffmann Rolls-Royce Solutions, Senior Sales Manager, Rolls-Royce is strengthening its foothold in Africa. “In Africa, the majority of our business is within two pillars-the aviation sector, where we do business with international companies, such as Ethiopian Airlines and Egypt Air. And, what I call, the ‘land division’ where we do power systems. We are generating power. We have diesel and gas generators. We have also the capability to introduce new technologies and fuels like hydrogen,” Hoffman said.
Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems division is manufacturing clean and efficient engines, their gas genset are proved to run on 100% hydrogen and their diesel gensets can take Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). . The company is growing its presence, products and services across Africa
Eliud Muchina, Sales Engineer at Rolls-Royce Solutions Africa Kenya Ltd, said that Rolls-Royce is covering the railway, mining, marine and power generation sectors in Africa. “In all these sectors, we support our customers. In the past, we were only represented by third parties, but now we can directly support our customers. We have an entity in Nairobi, and through this entity we can support our partners and customers in East Africa.” Muchina said.
Rolls-Royce Solutions has different units including power generation, marine, industrial, mining and agriculture, all of which can benefit Africa. With headquarters in South Africa the company has products in all African countries, namely in Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt.
Rolls Royce is rolling out a new plan for the African market that will enable it to strengthen its foothold in the continent. “We are extending our footprint in Africa. We are working with our local partners having deployed our people on the ground,” Hoffman said.
Speaking of the Ethiopian market, Muchina said Rolls-Royce sees big opportunities in power generation. There are many ongoing hydropower generation projects such as the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Muchina said Rolls-Royce could also supply water pumps to the ongoing geothermal projects in Ethiopia.
“We can provide off grid solutions. We can generate power where the national grid doesn’t exist,” Muchina said. Rolls-Royce supplies fuel efficient power generators and it can also build micro grid. “We see big business in Ethiopia in power generation.”
The Ethiopian government is expanding the national grid and delivering affordable electric power. However, frequent power interruptions and power fluctuations still threaten the manufacturing industry. “That is where we can jump in,” says Muchina.
Rolls-Royce Solutions manufactures and supplies uninterruptible power backup generators (UPSs) and battery storage solutions and genset back up power generation. In the industrial parks, the company can supply emergency power supply units. “We know that the government is availing affordable power, but manufacturers need to have backup power. Most of the manufacturers in the industrial parks are textile factories. Their machines are very sensitive to power interruption or inconsistency. So we can provide solutions to the manufacturers. We can work with the industrial parks and provide them with centralized back up power system or we can serve individual companies,” Muchina said.
According to Hoffman, Rolls-Royce has already started its journey in Ethiopia last year by partnering with its local systems integrator-General Power. “We already have plenty of demand for generators and micro grids. We will be serving the demand where there is no grid with our local system integrator.”
Yeneneh Dawit, General Manager of General Power, said that half of Ethiopia’s 110 million population does not have access to electricity. “Together with our partner Rolls-Royce we want to address this sizeable market. We have partnered with the right power company, and we are on the right track to serve the Ethiopian market,” Dawit said.
Muchina cited a practical example where Rolls-Royce supported Kenyan Railways in revamping ageing locomotives. Railways have been operating in Africa for the past 100 years. Over the years, they have become run down. Kenyan Railways has old locomotives powered by Rolls-Royce engines.
“We are helping them replace the engines, which are over forty-fifty years old which can no longer be serviced or repaired. We are helping them to replace the engines gradually. We started that in Kenya, and hope to help neighboring countries with their ageing fleet of locomotives, and give them a new lease of life.” Muchina said.
With the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), African countries need to transport goods across borders, and railways play an important role in realizing the transport demand between neighboring countries.
Hoffman says African countries can tap into new technologies such as the use of sustainable fuel. “Our engines are ready to run on sustainable fuel. African countries can jump in and seize the opportunity,” he added.
Muchina shares Hoffman’s view. “We are heading to an era of de carbonization and increased energy security. African countries should be looking at the use of native, locally produced sustainable fuels. And this is the space where our products can come in. We are focused on the manufacturing and delivery of sustainable power solutions. As East African countries’ economies are growing, we see big opportunity,” he concluded.
