At its 11th annual meeting, the Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum, which is to be held in Washington DC next week, is set to award a returnee who, some five years ago, had cofounded a transformer manufacturing plant.
According to information the organizers of the forum distributed, this year’s presumptive recipient of “Pioneer Ethiopian Diaspora Businessperson Awards” is Dawit Belay, cofounder of Advantage Industrial PLC, a company that manufactures and repairs transformers in Ethiopia.
A graduate of the University of Washington Dawit Belay holds a Business Management Degree. His biography reads that he started out in Seattle, Washington with a beverage distribution company; Firm Real Soda, which he purchased while working as area manager for five years. Three years running Real Soda’s distribution business, Dawit was able to double the capacity of the firm and was able to sell it to a larger company later. Sold with better returns, Real Soda helped Dawit to cofound other company named: Rain Coast Water that purifies packages and delivers water to businesses in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Established in 2010, Advantage Industrial has been devoted to manufacture the distribution and power transformers designed and built based on customers’ preferences. Currently, Advantage Industrial eyes to grow both in its existing transformers production capacity. In addition to that, the company vows to add four more lines of products namely: Electrical Control Panel, Water Heater, Electric Boxes and Switches, Sockets and Plugs.
At its convergence here in Addis last year, the diaspora business forum had awarded Ambassador Grima Birru. The ambassador, who heads Ethiopian Mission in Washington, received “Business Champion of the Year” award for his efforts in supporting the diaspora residing in the US. The current Champion of the Year is yet to be disclosed.
It is also to be recalled that back in 2015, returnees such as Tamrat Bekele, founder of Medpharm Holdings Africa parent company of International Clinical Laboratories and Akeza Teame (MD) were awardees honored for their contribution in the medical sector.
Past recipients include: Tadios Getachew of Kuriftu Resort, Zemedeneh Nigatu of Ernst and Young, Munir Duri of Kifiya Technologies, Daniel Gizaw, of dVentus PLC and Addis Alemayehu of 251 Communications.
