Ethiopia's Silicon Valley Gets New CEO

Oct 31 , 2020


Feven Dagnchew, the chief executive officer of ICT Park, has resigned from her post after serving for three years. Surafeal Shemiles, currently the director of the information technology department at the Industrial Park Development Corporation (IPDC), assumed the post as an acting CEO.  Feven had been heading the nation's first ICT park after it was moved under the IPDC. Feven has a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from Haramaya University and two master's degrees from Addis Abeba Institute of Technology and Leadstar University in energy technology and business administration, respectively. Before joining the Park, she worked at the Science & Technology Information Centre as an assistant analyst and as a junior energy consultant at GIZ. Surafeal has been working as the director of the information technology department at the IPDC, a department which was recently decentralised from the planning department in the Corporation. The new acting CEO still serves as the director of the information technology department.  Surafeal completed his bachelor's degree in computer science at Haramaya University and later went on to study project management at St. Mary's College three years back. Before joining the Corporation, he worked at Ethio telecom for close to a decade in different capacities from programmer to project manager. ICT Park, which is located close to Bole Lemi Industrial Park, is considered Ethiopia's Silicon Valley, and it is currently a home of many private operators such as ZTW, Techno Mobile and Security Innovation Network, among others.


Radar

DREARY LANES

A street lamp around Addis Abeba Stadium melds into the concrete backdrop emblematic of the capital's ageing infrastructure. Over the past few years, Ethiopia's electric grid has been subject to destruction and theft, subjecting the public treasury to hundreds of millions in losses. Nearly half of the country's population does not have access to electricity. A series of projects by the World Bank has contributed to the slight but essential upgrade to the nation's grid, including a 500 million do...


Radar

PLUMPY HUMPS

A trio of donkeys drag along the main road in front of Menlik School around the Arat Kilo area. While the four-legged domestic animal is a venerated member of the Ethiopian labour force, its skin and meat are increasingly valued in the international markets. Rhong Chang, a donkey slaughterhouse operating in Assela Town, Oromia Regional State reopened its services after a seven-year break two years ago. Public outroar has often accompanied the entrance of donkey abattoirs into Ethiopia since anot...


Radar

IMPROMPTU AISLES

A bustling market emerges under a bridge in the boroughs of the Bole Michael area. Addis Abeba City Administration has launched a series of aesthetic initiatives embalmed in themes of beautification and urbanisation that have removed thousands of shops built with makeshift tents. Above a quarter of Addis Abeba's labour force is engaged in the informal economy, which while often associated with connotations of illegality, remains a sizeable employer in emerging economies across the world. Calibra...


Back
WhatsApp
Telegram
Email