Finding the people behind the growth

For the last decade I've had a firm conviction that the Ethiopian economy is one to grow for the foreseeable future.

This conviction has been strengthened by my regular visits and some of my work with a project called DiasporaLink and with the Swedish-Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce (SWECC). Not to mention the proven track record Ethiopia has had and the following hype exhibited by the world community.

During January 2016 we visited Ethiopia with SWECC while working on DiasporaLink and were, incredibly, surprised by the speed of development in many entrepreneurial sectors yet again.

In every sector that we had the privilege of meeting entrepreneurs, we saw tremendous strides being made in the scale of businesses, internationalisation, service levels and more.

While working with our project, we saw companies in manufacturing, ICT, financial services, governmental institutions and more. Each with a positive story to share and an equally positive outlook for the future.

In addition to affirming our belief in the Ethiopia Rising paradigm, this visit and the people that we met convinced us to further increase our engagement in our business projects in Ethiopia.

However, one issue that was often raised during our conversations was access to qualified and motivated employees as an obstacle for companies and their potential growth.

I myself, have been wondering, where the entrepreneurially sprited Ethiopians congregate and network. Are there prominent such places and if so where are they?

Both for the recruitment of suitable staff as well as for the creation of effective teams, it's useful, if not crucial for companies to know where to turn.

Do you know where you would turn to network, find jobs/employees or suitable team mates for your venture in Ethiopia or outside?  Please, comment.