Ben Mandell in Ethiopia
Please describe what the organization/company you work with does, how it is set up and where it is located?
I worked with Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (SCFCU) which is a coffee farming union setup by the Ethiopian government in 2001 to organize and represent 47 cooperatives and 87,000 small farmers. Our main office is located in Addis Ababa and our farmers are located in the southern region of Ethiopia called Sidama.
What is the organization/company doing well?
The Sidama Union exports roughly 4000 tons of washed coffee each year making it the second largest coffee union in the country. The process of organizing 87,000 farmers is a very difficult task and with only 13 staff members Sidama is doing an admirable job. Most importantly, Sidama has helped their farmers receive higher prices for their coffee through various certifications including organic, fair trade, UTZ-Kapeh, C.A.F.E. and others.
Where could the organization/company improve?
Overall, Sidama is understaffed and under-resourced. The management is continuously playing catch-up and planning activities are rarely possible. In 2006, Sidama’s Fair Trade certificate was suspended for a number of violations. The Fair Trade certificate was later reinstated but with a number of requisite corrective actions. I successfully worked with Sidama to address these corrective actions and to expand their fair trade certificate to an additional 31 cooperatives. However, their current infrastructure in all areas including accounting, IT, cooperative support, finance and others need to be upgraded to be able to support the additional demands of fair trade.
What are some aspects of the local cultural that should be understood when foreigners consider doing business in this country?
Ethiopia suffers from many of the common African business hurdles – slow response times, heavy bureaucratic processes and a general lack of infrastructure. Moreover, Ethiopians communicate in a far more subtle and gentler manner than Westerners. Particular attention needs to be paid to how one interacts with others and especially when it comes to showing respect for those in positions of authority. If one demands things and acts temperamental, constant road blocks will appear. However, Ethiopians are notorious procrastinators and sometimes a little soft force is needed. The ability to get what you want depends on being able to walk that delicate line of being understanding, persistent and insistent when needed.
What are some aspects of the local business environment (e.g. registration of company, government’s role in business, business items unique to this country) that should be understood when foreigners and locals consider doing business in this country?
Not that long ago Ethiopia was ruled by a communist government. Certain industries are still government controlled and all industries are heavily regulated. For instance, there is only one Internet provider and one cell phone provider, the government. The service is beyond awful but there is no recourse.
What were the direct and indirect results/deliverables as a result of your placement? Please be as specific as possible. Please provide both soft and hard examples. Hard examples include number of clients/people trained, dollars raised, people impacted, etc)
My main focus was on Sidama’s Fair Trade certification. When I arrived, Sidama’s certification had recently been reinstated after previously being suspended for a number of serious violations. As a result, my first task was to help Sidama comply with the existing 23 corrective actions and conditions. In doing so, Sidama upgraded their reporting and compliance systems and in August 2007 during its annual inspection was able to certify an addition 31 cooperatives from its previous 8. While Sidama still has a number of corrective actions to fulfill, Sidama with its 39 certified fair trade cooperatives now represents the largest fair trade coffee producer in Ethiopia and among the largest in Africa.
Are there opportunities in this field (e.g… health, agriculture or finance) for local and international entrepreneurs?
There are certainly opportunities for an entrepreneur looking to start a business in Ethiopia in the coffee industry and in other areas. In fact, any entrepreneur that can bring good management skills and capital will be very successful.
Questions about Personal Experience:
Why are you interested in international development and private sector development?
For me, international development means helping others better organize their economic systems so that they can increase their standard of living. The two key components are helping and working with people in other countries. I enjoy both of these immensely.
The private sector tends to align individual’s incentives with the success of the organization better than the non-profit or government counterparts. Meaning, economic development comes down to creating more appropriate, efficient and equitable economic systems and the private sector tends to be stronger in these areas.
Originally, why did you want to participate in this program?
MBAs Without Borders offers quality projects with good financial support. I already knew that I would enjoy the work and MWBs seemed like a great organization to get involved with.
What were your main challenges, both personally and professionally?
I had expectations of having a great impact on the organization I was working for.
It is rather simple exercise to see what is wrong with an organization and to understand how to fix it. The ‘doing’ is the hard and complicated part. While I feel that I accomplished my primary goal, I would have liked to contribute in a greater way. Part of the challenge was a result of the short time period I was involved, but also the nature of the organization was a bit more static than I expected.
Was the monthly stipend of $1,000US/month sufficient and how, if needed, would you change the way and what MBAs Without Borders financially covers?
The monthly stipend was sufficient and MWBs was excellent about payments. I would not change a thing.
What would have made this experience even better for you?
Everyone involved from MWBs, Transfair and Sidama Union were really great and supportive.
What advice would you like to offer future MBAs who work abroad for MBAs Without Borders?
Be gentle in your approach, most MBAs are very smart but places like Ethiopia operate more on relationships than on intelligence or being right. Respect your colleagues and try to help when you can but let go when things become too much.
Why would you recommend others to participate on MWB programs?
MWB programs are some of the most interesting and supported short-term development projects in the world. If someone is able to be involved, they should consider themselves fortunate and do all that they can to help the organization they are working for and also to give back to MWB.
What are some of your goals and aspirations (i.e. job, personal, etc), that you are planning for once this placement has concluded
I expect to continue working in the development field but not in a traditional sense. For me, development transcends economics and the real problem is a lack of understanding and compassion between people in affluent and developing nations. If a greater respect and caring can be established, economic problems become far simpler and quicker to solve.