Yonas Alemu, founder of food company Lovegrass Ethiopia
How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief, Jaco Maritz, picks his five favourite interviews from 2024.
1. Entrepreneur turns Nigerian superfood into a global export business
Timi Oke is the co-founder and CEO of AgroEknor, a company exporting dried hibiscus flowers grown in Nigeria to global markets, including the US, Mexico and Europe. He secured his first agricultural trading deal through LinkedIn while still working at a bank in the UK. Watch the full interview
2. Why this German invested in Tanzania’s first commercial apple farm
While fruits like pineapples, bananas, and mangoes thrive in Africa’s equatorial region, apples typically do not, as they favour cooler climates. However, German-born entrepreneur David Runge spotted an opportunity in apple farming in East Africa. He invested in Tamu Tamu Tanzania, which claims to be the region’s first commercial apple farm and apple tree nursery, located 540km west of Dar es Salaam. The company has conducted extensive research and development to identify and cultivate apple varieties that can thrive in the equatorial climate. Watch the interview
3. The businessman who sold Ethiopian teff pasta to Italians
Teff, a tiny grass seed native to Ethiopia, ranks among the world’s most ancient cultivated crops, having been domesticated between 6,000 and 4,000 BC. For thousands of years, Ethiopians have used teff flour to make ‘injera’, a flat, spongy sourdough bread that is a staple in their diets. Celebrated as a superfood, teff is gluten-free and rich in nutrients such as iron, magnesium, manganese, calcium, zinc, and vitamins B and C. Ethiopian elite runner Haile Gebrselassie has even credited teff as a factor in his athletic success.
Investment-banker-turned-entrepreneur Yonas Alemu is the founder and managing director of Lovegrass Ethiopia, a health food company making a variety of items from teff and other Ethiopian grains. Its products include pasta, breakfast cereal, pancake mixes, powdered beverages and snacks. Lovegrass has a factory on the outskirts of Addis Ababa and sells both internationally and within Ethiopia. Watch the interview
4. Investment adventures in Africa’s frontier markets
Dutch investor Barthout van Slingelandt, managing partner of XSML Capital, shares his experiences of backing companies in the DRC, Uganda, and Angola. Read the interview
5. Zambia: The entrepreneur who sold her house to build a fintech business
Chilufya Mutale is in the business of lending money to underserviced people in Zambia and beyond. As the co-founder of eShandi, a Lusaka-based company formerly known as Premier Credit, she has overseen the disbursement of over $11 million in loans since 2019. Starting as a small operation in Zambia, eShandi has expanded into Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa, while diversifying its offerings to include payment solutions and value-added services like life insurance. Watch the interview
