For Almaz Nigusse, a grandmother in her 60s, the education of her grandchildren is her prime responsibility.

Recently, she found herself haggling for a price with Alemayehu Yeshiwond, a seller of whiteboards around Jacros Street near Salite Mehret Church in the capital.

Almaz has taken it upon herself to see to the schooling of her grandchildren and her teenage child. She buys all the school supplies that they need, and today she settled on 150 Br to buy a small white board from Alemayehu.

Almaz, who lives in Aqaqi Qality district close to Hana Mariam Church, has travelled to the CMC area to observe one of the religious festivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Tir Mariyam.

It is by chance that she found Alemayehu's shop and his whiteboards for she has been searching for the item for at least a month. The marker board is a glossy-surfaced writing implement that accepts nonpermanent markers and is easily erased for reuse.

Whiteboards, analogous to blackboards, gained popularity in the mid-1990s, and they have become a fixture of many offices, meeting rooms, classrooms and are even used in the restaurant business.

"I need it for my children so that they can practice and develop their writing skills,” she said.

Almaz's grandson is one of nearly 170,000 children aged four to six enrolled in kindergartens throughout Addis Abeba. There are 34,867 primary schools in Ethiopia.

Recently many street vendors have started to sell the product in the capital. Genanaw Arega, in his late 20s, is one of them.

He hawks his wares all over the city for about six hours a day, but when Fortunetalked to him, he was in Gerji in front of Anbessa Bus Garage. Genanaw travels to Megenagna, Mexico, Sarbet, Arat Kilo and Bole covering all the important market centres of the city.

Hailing from Addis Qidame in Gojjam, Genanaw has been in the capital for the last five years working as a street vendor.

At first, he sold toys, film and music CD but claims the CD business truncated following the opening of entertainment television channels that reduced the sale of locally-produced films.

Once, working in Bole district, code enforcement officers confiscated CDs that cost him 5,000 Br, which he never recovered. These enforcement officers make random raids against street vendors, often striking with clubs and seizing merchandise with impunity and without any accounting.

Now, Genanaw has found a new opportunity, selling whiteboards, and he devotes his business hours to this single product. He claims that business has improved in the two months that he has been working.

In the beginning, he bought about 20 finished whiteboards at a time from a manufacturer around Gurd Shola, who supplied him with different size boards.

The sizes range between 80cm by 80cm to 40cm by 60cm, having a wholesale price that ranges from 300 Br to 70 Br. He retails them for 350 Br to 150 Br.

Recently, Genanaw started manufacturing the whiteboards himself, assembling at least 10 pieces each day from where he lives in Goro, Agow Sefer. He purchases the material he needs, including nails, laminated chip boards, polyester coverings, moldings and other items locally.

Genanaw is an entrepreneur ready to tackle any business idea and determined to survive in the competitive atmosphere of the city. He is motivated to help his family in Gojam where he sends money regularly.