In a startling turn of events, Access Real Estate shareholders recently chose to reinstate Ermias Amelga, the controversial businessman and founding shareholder, to the company's board. This comes a decade after elections for board positions were last conducted. Ermias, who has been implicated in the company's past failures, is once again at the helm a decade after the real estate firm became a hotbed of controversy.

This reinstatement of Ermias and the new board represents a significant juncture for Access Real Estate. With a controversial past behind them and an uncertain future ahead, the company's ability to regain trust and deliver on its promises to homebuyers remains to be seen. Amidst these challenges, shareholders, board members, and homebuyers hope for a successful "last dance" to turn the company's fortunes around and restore its reputation in the real estate market.

Access Real Estate, established in 2008 with a modest initial capital of 50,000 Br, had once promised to revolutionize the conventional real estate industry. Targeting the burgeoning middle class in the capital, the company pledged a timely and affordable delivery of apartment units, attracting thousands of prospective homeowners with this ambitious proposition.

The company's strategy involved a high stake commitment to deliver housing units within one year, coupled with a pledge to pay monthly rents of up to 5,000 Br if it failed to meet deadline. To further sweeten the deal, the company offered to refund any advance payments with a 10pc top-up if a buyer chose to terminate the contract. Access Real Estate`s ambition to cut project timelines in half, a feat unmatched by competitors, was attributed mainly to the steel construction technology meant to be provided by Living Steel Plc.

However, this initial surge of momentum was short-lived, as a myriad of problems soon inundated the firm. Despite collecting billions of Birr, Access Real Estate fell short of its commitment to deliver housing units to over 2,000 buyers. The company's unconventional approach to land acquisition, which involved partnering with property owners rather than participating in city administration lease auctions, further complicated matters.

The company's fortunes took a drastic turn when Ermias, the architect of its business model, left the country in the early 2010s amid allegations of issuing checks with insufficient funds. His departure, after brief police custody, destabilized the company, creating a precarious situation that persisted even after his high-profile return in 2015, when he sought to rectify the company's failures.

Ermias, who had returned to Ethiopia from the United States in the early 1990s, had a notable history as an entrepreneur, introducing domestically bottled water with the brand "Highland." He had also been a shareholder in the now-defunct investment advisory firm, East African Investments, and had been instrumental in establishing Zemen Bank. His career exemplifies the potential and pitfalls of doing business in emerging markets like Ethiopia.

After a 10-year stalemate, Access Real Estate finally convened a shareholders' meeting when stakeholders with more than 10pc holdings petitioned the Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration (MoTRI) to call for a general assembly. Mitkua Adugna, the Ministry's director for share companies acquisition and merger, disclosed that shareholders representing 25.2pc of the paid-up capital attended the meeting, held at Genet Hotel, on Mozambique St. Seven board members were elected to serve for the next three years.

Mekuriya Degu, the newly elected board chairperson, emphasized the need to clearly understand the company's complex situation and the importance of deliberate actions to manage the tasks ahead.

A father of four, Mekuria is a founding shareholder who owns 100 share at par value of 1,000 Br. A veternan civil service man, he had served in the board entrusted with state enterprises before their fate is decieded, and a garment plant in Adama (Nazareth), producing military uniforms.