Fiyel Crafts/ፍየል የጥበብ ሥራዎች (Fiyel.com) is a 3 stage entrepreneurial journey to advance the people of Ethiopia from dependence to dominance. Meqoya is the 1st.
phase of this journey named "Transformation from the bottom up". Join me & participate
@Meqoya WHY FIYEL CRAFT'S 1ST PHASE START WITH MEQOYA? Long answer, but this excerpt from Meqoya-Focus document answer that question:
Focus on the biggest employer, the self employed. elf employment has become the biggest employer in the biggest and fastest growing economies of the world:
-- The biggest econom
y of the world USA @ 82% of private sector jobs self-employed.
-- Most populous and emerging power India @ 76% of the workforce self-employed.
-- The #1 in South east Asia & mixed economy powerhouse Indonesia @ 54% of the workforce self-employed.
--The 2nd. Biggest economy of the world and the world's factory China @ 50% workforce self-employed. Addis Ababa in trend @ 26% but needs a necessary boost. Focal point:
Whose economy shall Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) model after for urban high employment rate? United States of America -- the world's largest economy w/82% self employment? Singapore -- world class professional services economy w/13% self employment? Malaysia – commodity exporter with low GDP but higher income per capita w/24% self employment? Indonesia – fastest growing mixed economy powerhouse who ascended from agriculture country to the regions' #1 industrialized economy w/54% self employment rate? (Basic data for these selected economies is added as appendix at the end of this document). Currently, about half of the labour force in Addis Ababa is self-employed, in casual
or temporary employment, or unemployed. Unemployment rate of 24% and a self-employment rate of 26% is reported for Addis Ababa: UEUS (Urban Employment and Unemployment Survey, et CSA) published by IGC (International Growth Centre). July 2024 Statistica publication states, Ethiopia's service sector 37%, agro 38% and industry 23% contributed to its GDP. Ethiopia's national unemployment is ~20% with higher urban unemployment, 24% in Addis Ababa for instance (additional info: industrialization and rapid urbanization, in this document). Fusion model: blended approach to fast-track urban job creation
Mimicking the resilience and mixed economy success story of Indonesia who transformed from agro dependent economy to the region's #1 industrialized economy + the biggest self-employment rate of the biggest economy of the world, the USA + GLCs spearheaded commodity export economy of heavyweight Malaysia. Addis Ababa: in a nutshell
A transforming metropolis of 5.7 million (and growing at 4.5% per year), a seat of African Union, an International diplomatic & NGO hub, the seat of FDRE government and the capital city of the People of Ethiopia as much as it is beautiful, it also has issues that tarnishes its image - Fast population growth, very high unemployment, poverty and unsafe/unhygienic food services. Foreign and local researchers published in several occasions that Ethiopian food services, all eateries in general and fast/street food services in particular, are unsafe, unhygienic and poses public health hazard (sample publications in this document). This document considers the three setbacks (fast population growth, high unemployment and the severely image tarnishing unhygienic food handling practices) as complementary components to create all inclusive vibrant economy that creates more jobs, more businesses, more employers, much higher self employment rate and renew tarnished image. Population growth adds to the labour pool and increases domestic consumption and boost several sectors, the unemployed can either be employed or motivated to become self employed and the food service can be modernized creating hundreds of thousands (millions nationwide) jobs, new entrepreneurs, more micro / small businesses, big industrial and technology heavyweights and large number of new batch of self employed in phases 1, 2 & 3,(more in this document). Complementary Setbacks:
What are the main causes of unemployment in Ethiopia? KDI School of Research.
.....higher population growth, huge rural urban migration, lack of entrepreneurship skill, mismatch of skills with the labour market and lack of quality education...KDI School of Research. Addis Ababa's, a subject in the study, high rate of unemployment is comprised of all of the above causes, mainly young, unskilled, unexperienced and with or without basic education. Phase 1 determined the service sector's food service segment suitable for Addis Ababa's current unemployment demography to fast-track the unemployed to employment or to self employment. Service sector: food service segment
The service sector is broad and big employing significant portion of the nations' workforce, this sector is the biggest employer in many economies. In phase 1, I will be dealing with a segment of this sector since it is determined to be suitable for the most unemployed individuals in Addis Ababa and it is the fastest route to employment and self employment. Self-employment is nothing more than commercializing one's talent or skill.... Yoseph K Teferra. The food service, fast / street food services in particular, do not require large capital to start, do not require high qualifications to start business or to get employed, can produce millions of self employed individuals who produce light meals from home and as many to sell and/or distribute in to pre-arranged food stands in their neighborhoods zones where the workforce demanded fast and convenient lunch/snack close to where they work. Street Food service: a trending global phenomenon making up 65% - 78% of total food services revenue in some countries and employer of greater portion of food service jobs. Today's cropping up Ethiopian fast and street food is a reminder of the industrial revolution of Europe and the US where industrial expansion and rapid urbanization demanded fast and convenient meal, the era that gave rise to the White Castle, A&W, McDonalds, KFC etc.. The fast /street food services since then showed consistent growth across the world reaching USD 295 billion in 2023, USD 330 billion this year and forecasted to hit USD 1/2 trillion in 2028. In highly industrialized and emerging economies, street food contributes a dominant portion of food service revenue; EU, Japan, China, Singapore, India, Thailand, Turkey, Morocco, Vietnam and several others recorded soaring and consistent revenue growth and employment. India's street food service, for example, surpassed USD 42+ billion (53+% of total food service revenue of USD 78 billion) last year and expected to further bloat by 16% this year. Fueled by industrialization and rapid urbanization, such a shift is also detected in Ethiopian food service market as depicted in the charts bellow. Ethiopia is a developing country of 120+ million with growing economy and growing faster urban populations. Industrialization and rapid urbanization, as witnessed in developed countries and noted in Ethiopia itself, demands fast and convenient meal close to where people work, live and gather. But, we've a problem: Ethiopian fast/street food is infamous the world over
As several studies asserted, Ethiopia's street food is a safety concern and public health hazard that demands modernization. Nearly 10% (some put it higher) of all illnesses in Ethiopia are caused by food borne pathogens (NIH, United States National Institute of health). Even though the cost and convenience is entertained by those who have little to no other options, food handling in these environments fall far short of safety, hygiene and health standards. Local and foreign researchers have pointed out hazardous conditions in their several publications. Sample published references: there are plethora of studies and reports of serious safety, hygiene and public health hazard concerns in “Ethiopian fast/street food” scene. Food Hygiene, Safety Measures, and Associated Factors...Addis Ababa https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1155/2024/7567579
Ethiopian Street Foods: Working Conditions and Governance https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/11786302241241414
Sanitary condition and hygienic practice ... various towns of Ethiopia https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666154323003642?via%3Dihub
But, this sector is crucial: this is essential sector not only for the city's image but also for the economy, employment and public health. This is where this document author's Phase #1 (SOLVE – from the bottom up) plan comes in to picture – improving food handling, organizing, displaying and distributing practices. Meqoya will introduce prepared food packaging, organizing, distributing and displaying solutions custom tailored for exiting suppliers and vendors as well as to the self employed who will be coached to prepare light foods to be distributed in pre-arranged food stands across the city – further creating new batch of self employed who are to become tomorrow's small businesses and employers. Meqoya / መቆያ :
Meqoya envisions to tackle population growth, unemployment and hygiene / health concerns by taking these setbacks as complementary components to improve the sector, reduce unemployment, alleviate safety concerns and mitigate public hearth risks while transforming micro businesses to small businesses, the self employed to micro/small businesses and attracting more self employed to the level attained by successful economies such as The USA (82%), India (76%), Indonesia (54%), China (50%) etc.. in 3 phases. Meqoya's mission:
-- Solving setbacks imposed by fast growing population, high unemployment rate, poverty and image tarnishing food handling practices,
-- Self employment is commercializing individuals' talent & skill, we help every talented and skilled individual commercialize their talent.
-- Creating and transforming the self employed to become tomorrow's big businesses and big employers,
-- Support micro businesses to grow bigger to produce more and to hire more,
-- Support small businesses to grow and become industry park tenants and global competitors,
-- Create an eco-system in which everyone has a role and a job,
-- Contribute to the whole and wholesome transformation of Addis Ababa to live up to its name. More on Meqoya on separate document titled
“ MEQOYA-MISSION” in PDF format, also available on Google docs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15RzPc5iCD1WElHxWyHgE1vvl6VUGDPfD/view?usp=sharing
