<h1 style="text-align:center;">Angels in Addis</h1>November has been a busy month for RENEW with two angel groups from the U.S. visiting Addis for Econ-Tourism trips. This was the first trip to Ethiopia for most of the angels, who came from Washington, D.C., Delaware and Oregon.The groups met with countless Ethiopian entrepreneurs and visited a number of businesses spanning a variety of sectors - from healthcare to coffee to injera. All of the angels expressed their surprise and excitement about the incredible potential for growth they saw throughout the trips.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/2013_november_angels_3ac8cab271.jpg"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/collage_2013_november_angels_oregon_0cc2ddd951.jpg"></figure>RENEW is gearing up for a busy 2014, with several trips already scheduled. Contact us to learn more about scheduling your own Econ-Tourism trip! Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

RENEW hosted two angel groups in Addis in November.

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Angels in Addis

<h1>RENEW's Fellows Program: A View from Inside</h1>The following is a guest post by Vina Verman, who participated in RENEW's Fellows Program from October - December 2013. Vina lives in Washington, D.C. and is completing a Master of Business Administration at the George Washington School of Business.<figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:24.48%;"><img src="/uploads/vina_mosaic_2f87283633.jpg"></figure>I was first introduced to RENEW in the summer of 2013 while I was doing an internship with USAID in Ethiopia. I attended a workshop organized by RENEW that trained employees of a USAID project on the concept of private equity and angel investing. Having returned to school to obtain an MBA for the purpose of improving the private sector in developing countries, particularly in Africa, RENEW’s mission struck a chord within me. That day, I was extremely appreciative of RENEW’s optimism and the potential that it saw in the progress of African countries.I completed my internship, where I worked in Ethiopia’s coffee industry, and returned to Washington, D.C. to begin my second year at the George Washington School of Business. While sitting in my new venture financing course, I thought about RENEW and was interested to learn how this company operated and how it differed from the investment firms that I was introduced to through class. I reached out to RENEW to inquire about internship opportunities and was excited to be brought on board soon after. The entire team, from near and far, was very welcoming.Once I joined the team, I learned that RENEW was investing in a specialty coffee company offering speciality coffee from the Yirgacheffe region in Ethiopia, possibly the most popular coffee growing region in the country. RENEW was also making headway to fund the growth of a traditional Ethiopian bread (injera) company in Ethiopia which is using 100% teff, a gluten-free grain.I first started looking into the market for Ethiopian coffee and quickly learned that despite Washington, D.C. being a major diaspora hub, the diaspora community is not the ideal target market. After visiting a few diaspora grocery stores, I noticed that Ethiopian coffee was sold in transparent plastic tubs with no product or company information. Specialty coffee gets some of its high quality characteristics from the roasting process, however, diaspora like to buy green coffee and roast it themselves for guests in a traditional coffee ceremony at home. I shifted my research away from the diaspora market and discovered that many large U.S. coffee roasters hold free public cuppings (coffee tastings) at their roasting plants or laboratories in Washington, D.C. This gave me access to very knowledgeable coffee buyers and employees of coffee roasters who gave me insights into how some roasting companies choose their coffee and what they look for. The farmer’s story was not the most important aspect for many roasters, instead, they looked for the best quality when cupping (coffee tasting), and they looked for certain characteristics that different coffee origins provide. In speaking with a brand manager at Starbucks, it was exciting to learn that even the world’s mega-coffee roaster is committed to tasting all coffee samples it receives and providing timely feedback.With Ethiopia being the birthplace of coffee, the mainstream exposure that Ethiopian coffee has gained through Starbuck’s recent offering of single-origin Ethiopian coffee, and RENEW’s partner offering coffee from the Yirgacheffe region, this growing Ethiopian specialty coffee company has nowhere to go but up!There was a lot to learn about both the coffee and injera markets. My experience with RENEW has allowed me to apply concepts I’ve learned from my MBA courses, and it has also allowed me to identify areas that I would like to strengthen before I complete my program.Other parts of my fellowship that were especially interesting included having the opportunity to join in on RENEW’s monthly conference calls where RENEW's partners update its community of angel investors about the happenings on the ground in Ethiopia, give status reports of ongoing projects, and share new investment opportunities. It was exciting to be included in the circle of angel investors, be exposed to the process of bringing in new investors, and be able to put myself in the shoes of investors who are listening to the information to decide which companies to invest in. In addition to this, I had the opportunity to have dinner with one of RENEW’s active angel investors at a members-only club in Washington, D.C., where we discussed our individual thoughts and findings on the specialty coffee industry in the U.S.A major part of my MBA process has been exploring different companies and industries to determine where I can best apply my unique background. A combination of working in Mali for five years in the areas of small business development and agricultural value chain development and with my unwavering passion for private sector development in emerging markets, this fellowship introduced me to impact investing and helped me to develop a very strong interest for private equity investments in Africa.Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

Vina Verman, RENEW's fall 2013 fellow, shares what she learned during her fellowship.

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 RENEW's Fellows Program: A View from Inside

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW in 2013</h1>In almost all regards, 2013 was a banner year for RENEW. We facilitated several investments into amazing companies in Ethiopia (see <a href="../../marketplace/portfolio.html">Portfolio</a>), secured great partnerships with the development community, and helped mobilize more than $3 million into our portfolio companies.As for impact, we created more than 20 full time jobs, some 30 part time jobs, supported 190* people, and helped mobilize $39 million** in the local economy.We provided more than five trainings on the basics of private equity, and met with more than 100 local companies.RENEW also hired three amazing staff members (see <a href="../../about-renew/team.html">Team</a>) and had three exceptional fellows participate in our RENEW Fellows Program.2013 was not without its challenges. We learned a lot about doing business in Ethiopia: I personally made some classic “western” blunders with regard to managing my team and negotiating terms with our portfolio companies (thank you all, for your grace, patience and wonderful advice). Nonetheless, we learned a lot from these challenges, and we are excited about what 2014 will bring!*Using the 9x job creation multiplier. **Using the 13x SEAF multiplier.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/photo_ethiopia_november_2013_angel_trip_6581aeedc7.jpg"></figure>Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

Read about RENEW's achievements and lessons learned in 2013.

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RENEW in 2013

<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/the_economist_2_0_da21a74fc3.jpg"></figure><h1 style="text-align:center;">The Economist to Host Ethiopia Summit 2015</h1>This week, The Economist will be hosting <a href="http://www.economist.com/events-conferences/emea/ethiopiasummit-2015">The Ethiopia Summit 2015</a> in Addis Ababa. The conference plans to bring together the country’s leading policy makers and business executives to explore, discuss and tackle the current economic challenges Ethiopia faces today.Matthew Davis will be speaking on the “Financing Ethiopia’s Ambitious Plans” panel. This panel will discuss Ethiopia’s constrained banking sector, which had led to a “gap” in access to finance for small to medium sized enterprises. As a result, private equity groups, such as RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN), have stepped in to fill this gap and provide entrepreneurs with the means to scale their companies. In light of Ethiopia’s second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), the panel will explore Ethiopia’s current investment environment, the opportunities to help finance the country’s development goals, and the changes the private banking sector would experience if it were to open up.Hailu Tessema, the owner of <a href="http://www.mama-fresh.com/">Mama Fresh Injera, PLC</a> - one of the the IAN’s portfolio companies - will be sharing the challenges he has faced as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, his successes to date, as well as lessons learnt from building a company from scratch and growing it to a global enterprise.This event is significant, as it demonstrates a shift in the world’s focus on development and aid, to investment and trade. With Ethiopia being the second most populous country and the ninth largest economy on the continent, the country is poised to achieve its full potential and become one of the world’s fastest growing economies*. Be sure you do not miss out on the opportunities Ethiopia has to offer!<a href="http://www.economist.com/events-conferences/emea/ethiopiasummit-2015">*The Economist Ethiopia Summit 2015</a>

RENEW’s Matthew Davis and Mama Fresh’s Hailu Tessema to speak at this week’s summit.

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The Economist to Host Ethiopia Summit 2015

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW and the Impact Angel Network Close Sixth Investment in East Africa</h1>RENEW is excited to announce that members of the Impact Angel Network (IAN) closed an investment in the food and beverage industry in Ethiopia. The investment is in partnership with a leading producer of paper products in Ethiopia. The company sees an opportunity to leverage the management’s experience in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and the IAN and RENEW’s support to gain significant market share in the growing food and beverage industry by offering low-cost, locally produced alternatives to expensive imports.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/merkato_f7d9ce0c21.png"></figure>With the world’s fourteenth largest and fourteenth fastest growing population, Ethiopia is likely to see some of the strongest growth in FMCGs among African countries.* Demand within Ethiopia in relevant segments of the food and beverage industry, in particular, has exhibited significant growth in recent years, with compound annual growth rates in the double digits.**Anticipated impact includes creation of 125 new jobs in Ethiopia’s manufacturing and value addition sectors, increased purchases of produce from over 900 small holder farmers in Upper Awash, an impoverished area in the Afar region of Ethiopia, benefitting farmers and their families in that region, and reductions in foreign currency expenditures as a result of import substitution.This is the IAN’s fifth investment in Ethiopia since 2013, and their sixth investment in the East Africa region.<a href="https://renewcapital.com/sites/default/files/press_release_-_ethiopian_food_and_beverage_co.pdf">Download the press release</a>, contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a>, follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC or find us on Instagram @impactangelnetwork to learn more.*<a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html">The World Factbook</a> and <a href="https://www.kpmg.com/Africa/en/IssuesAndInsights/Articles-Publications/General-Industries-Publications/Documents/Fast-moving Consumer Goods in Africa.pdf">Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Africa</a> **<a href="http://ethemb.se/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Production-of-Fruits-and-Vegetables-in-Ethiopia.pdf">Investment Opportunity Profile for the Production of Fruit and Vegetables in Ethiopia</a>

The IAN invests in an Ethiopian food and beverage company.

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RENEW and the Impact Angel Network Close Sixth Investment in East Africa

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Welcomes Two New Team Members</h1>Berkessa Behailu and Lulit Negash, both of Ethiopia, join the RENEW team.<figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:23.97%;"><img src="/uploads/2014_lulit_and_berkessa_18f50c1cc2.jpg"></figure>RENEW is pleased to announce the addition of two new team members in the Addis Ababa office.<a href="https://renewcapital.com/team/berkessa-behailu">Berkessa Behailu</a> joins RENEW as an analyst and will be focused on investment analysis and due diligence. Berkessa worked previously at Precise Consult International as the project manager of the business and advisory department. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration and information technology from Addis Ababa University.<a href="https://renewcapital.com/team/lulit-negash">Lulit Negash</a> joins RENEW as a junior analyst and will focus on research and portfolio management. She joins RENEW from Nexus Investment Solutions, where she worked in market research. Lulit has a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Addis Ababa University.RENEW is thrilled to welcome Berkessa and Lulit to the team!Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

RENEW welcomes two new members to the Ethiopia office.

RENEW Welcomes Two New Team Members

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Financing Ethiopia’s Ambitious Economic Plans</h1>Economists, business leaders, investors, development partners, government leaders, local and international journalists and a host of others focused their attention on Addis Ababa last week with The Economists’ <a href="http://www.economist.com/events-conferences/emea/ethiopiasummit-2015">2015 Ethiopia Summit</a>, held at the Sheraton on October 28th and 29th.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_8243_1_128a3eec8e.jpg"></figure>His Honorable Excellency Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia opened the event, sharing some high level thoughts on Ethiopia’s economic accomplishments and plans. Next, Dr. Arkebe Oqubay, a senior advisor to the Prime Minister and the former mayor of Addis Ababa, gave a very succinct overview of the government’s development plans as described in the Growth and Transformation Plan II, which in some ways was formally launched at the event. Dr. Oqubay detailed how the government is aiming for continued economic growth at around 11% per year and plans to focus on growing the manufacturing, agriculture and export industries. The government is also aiming to help create two million jobs in the next ten years. He described how the government looked closely at the economic development plans and accomplishments of countries such as China, South Korea, Vietnam and Brazil, and used several of their lessons learnt and best practices to map out the country’s future economic goals.Both Dr. Oqubay and Prime Minister Desalegn mentioned the need for increasing local and foreign investment, encouraging groups like RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN) to invest in textiles, leather, agro-processing, clean energy, steel, cement and chemicals. And, while some of these investments are larger than RENEW and the IAN’s focus (our sweet spot is $500K to $1.5M per deal), Dr. Oqubay stressed the need to invest in small and medium enterprises to fuel growth at all levels in the private sector.The government appeared determined to continue building, and in some cases owning, critical infrastructure, including EthioTelecom (a government owned entity), industrial parks, and the railway system to Djibouti, which is estimated to cut transportation costs by one half. At the same time, government leaders at the summit were clear that they would not be opening up the banking sector to foreigners for at least another five years, as they feel they do not yet have the capacity to regulate international banks. Dr. Oqubay spoke about the current challenges of the country (infrastructure and human capital), which the government will continue to work on within the context of their ‘state led capitalism’ plan.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_8257_1_8bc617077f.jpg"></figure>Later in the day, RENEW’s Matthew Davis, along with a powerhouse panel of international and local investment bankers, took the stage to discuss the “financing of Ethiopia’s ambitious plans.” Matthew’s fellow panelists included Davinder Sikand, Partner of The Abraaj Group; Helaway Tadesse, Senior Vice President and Chair of Management Credit Committee of Zemen Bank; and Sergei Stankovski, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs. Matthew’s main points were to be successful in Ethiopia investors need to “get small”, “play by the government’s rules” and “don’t complain about the challenges.”<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/img_8260_2_dae07cca2d.jpg"></figure>Following the panel, Hailu Tessema, one of the owners of Mama Fresh Injera PLC (a RENEW portfolio company), held a one-on-one interview with the Xan Smiley, the Editor-at-Large of The Economist, about “doing business in Ethiopia.” Hailu challenged the assumption that obtaining debt financing was an issue for companies in Ethiopia, and stressed how the Ethiopian government has helped ensure small, local companies are having access to foreign markets through partnership with companies like RENEW, which are helping increase exports and modernize cottage industries like injera manufacturing.Overall, the summit was a success and important for Ethiopia, as it brought the country’s economic progress and plans into the global spotlight, and gathered investors from around the world to hear about the prospects and challenges of investing in one of the next great investment frontiers.

RENEW reflects on its time at The Economist's 2015 Ethiopia Summit.

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Financing Ethiopia’s Ambitious Economic Plans

<h1 style="text-align:center;">RENEW Speaks at the Leeds School of Business</h1>RENEW's Tom Scriven was invited to speak to a class of about 30 MBA students at the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business on March 4. The topic was "Financing Sustainable Change: Cleantech and Impact Investing."Among topics discussed were the opportunities and challenges facing Ethiopia as its economy grows. Significant investments in infrastructure and a growing middle class in the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa present remarkable opportunities for business growth at rates which would be seen as "too good to be true" in most other countries of the world. The conversation also included discussing ways to minimize some of the risks associated with these investments and opportunities to attract more public and private sector funds into investments that have potential for both significant financial and social returns.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/20140304_183658_9dcc35a44c.jpg"></figure>Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.

RENEW's Tom Scriven speaks at the Leeds School of Business.

RENEW Speaks at the Leeds School of Business

<h1 style="text-align:center;">Sesame: A Tiny Seed Has Great Potential in Ethiopia's Economy</h1>&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-left image_resized" style="width:32.94%;"><img src="/uploads/photo_sesame_0_7f156b2c73.jpg"></figure>In less than a decade, Ethiopia jumped from being a minor producer of sesame to one of the top five sesame producers in the world. At the same time, the international demand for sesame continues to increase every year. The world’s traded sesame seeds recently surpassed one million tons per year, valued at roughly $850 million. In the last 15 years, the world's trade in sesame has increased by nearly 80%. Sesame seeds are Ethiopia’s 2nd largest cash export crop behind coffee, and largest in terms of weight. The near-organic production practices enhance Ethiopia’s global reputation for producing high quality sesame.Ethiopia possesses favorable agro-climatic conditions for sesame production, as well as abundant land for agricultural activities. This makes the country one of the top raw sesame seed exporters in the world, supplying 14% of the global market for raw seeds. These seeds are then processed abroad. The domestic processing capacity in Ethiopia is currently quite limited, presenting a significant opportunity for investment. Currently Ethiopia is losing out on the opportunity to increase sesame revenues by mainly exporting seeds raw. Therefore, developing hulling facilities and other value addition facilities will position the country to grow its sesame market and better establish its international market position.Some target consuming markets of sesame such as the U.S. and Mexico primarily demand hulled sesame, which leaves Ethiopian sesame exporters unable to meet the requirements. RENEW is currently looking at existing sesame exporters and processors to identify investment opportunities. Such investments would help close the gap in revenue per ton between Ethiopian sesame and the global average in these hulled-sesame purchasing markets.Contact us at <a href="mailto:renew@renewcapital.com">renew@renewcapital.com</a> or follow us on Twitter @RENEWLLC to find out more.