Discussing Agricultural Systems and Cold Chain Solutions in Ethiopia with Aster Berhane of Astunet

Interview with Aster Tesfamichael Berhane, Managing Director at Astunet Business Enterprises PLC

Could you give us an overview of your sector? What are the latest developments and investment opportunities?

Our sector is untapped. There are a lot of opportunities for new investors to come because our regulations are open for FDI. The agriculture sector is varied and goes from horticulture, to floriculture, livestock, poultry, slaughterhouses, etc. It is really an untapped business, which will be more attractive if investors joined the Ethiopian investment opportunities. Banks and financial institutions are ready to work with the government. The environment and the market is very supportive of our industry. So whoever comes in will benefit.

There are also other opportunities related to new developments from our government, as the state-owned businesses are open for markets like telecoms and our national airline (Ethiopian Airlines). Besides, the new banking system is also going to be open. So, this is a very big opportunity for newcomers.

Could you give us an overview of Astunet Business Enterprises PLC and its competitive advantages?

Astunet started more than 20 years ago by trying to implement modern agricultural technologies like drip irrigation, sprinklers, and so on. Then, we developed ourselves to provide cold management solutions, working with leading companies all over the world to offer top agricultural equipment, such as drip irrigation systems. For example, we have been working with Netafim, the leading Israeli company. Regarding cold management, we went with Geerlofs Refrigeration BV, a company from the Netherlands. As for transport management solutions, we are working with Carrier Transicold which is one of the world’s leading companies for cold chain transportation. We learn a lot from these companies, from technology to the meaning of quality, sustainability, providing training and knowledge to our staff, etc.

We started from scratch up to where we are now, and we are trying to excel for better opportunities, better advantages, for our country and beyond. People are choosing us because our company is locally oriented, internationally oriented, our partners have the knowledge, the technology, better quality and quantity. All this makes us very competitive in our market.

Could you give us examples of success stories that illustrate that?

Our success story starts with Monagasha Flowers in flower farming. They had a lot of farms with modern irrigation technologies and cold storage. We have built some airport storage as well, in the northern part of Ethiopia, in Tigray Amhara. We have also built a facility for the airport industry, supplied cold chain transportation solutions to Nyala Motors Share Company, we have built for the United Nations with the Ethiopian Federal Police, Ethio Agri-CEFT which is part of MIDROC Ethiopia, and a lot more. We also provide services for our clients related to what we installed or supplied for them. We give preventive maintenance services and corrective maintenance services 24/7 for customers who are facing some problems with cold trucks, cold rooms, cooling cabinet, etc. We also supply a very successful project right now with banana ripening storage for one of MIDROC’s company. We supply for egg cold storage as well. So our success stories range from cold chain, to irrigation and cold trucks.

Why should investors partner with you?

Partnering with us means creating a network. As our name says, we are at the center of the network. This is one of our strengths. The second strength is that we are local, we know the ins and outs. We know the challenges, and we invest in our local team as well by training and building a code of ethics. We could however benefit from know-how, finances and more technology.

What is your international reach?

Our international reach comes from our partners. They own the product and technology, but they are here locally. Whatever we do, whatever we find, whatever we see, they can see it. So we built trust between us and our partners internationally. We have the Netherlands company, we have the Swiss company Aqua 4D, we have Career Transcicold, and we do some business with Israeli companies. We are now really cooperating and distributing our agreement with Climalife Galco for refrigerant gases, because we believe our industries should be focused on the environment as well. Climalife Galco is a Belgian company, we are trying to do some business with them. We are also in the process of discussing with a French company and a Canadian company. We hope to develop their products and services locally.

How do you see yourself in three years-time? What is your mission for the company and what do you want to achieve?

We are developing a business plan to organize a workshop. It is ongoing and we already built the warehouse. The other plan is to invest in products and technologies, such as product assembly. Another one is to open a one stop shop. There is shortage when it comes to accessibility of products in the market. To open a one stop shop for the irrigation technology or for the cold management would be beneficial. People could come and find what they want, instead of searching 20 or 30 shops or all over the world. So we want to focus on the supply chain.

What new technology are you looking for exactly?

There are a lot of softwares on how to calculate, how to check what the client wants, and how to develop a design. This technology is important for our industry, so that we know what we can be competitive with, what is all over the world, and what Ethiopia could offer as well. So instead of searching here and there, everything will be in one place.

The other focus is materials for cold chain management. Again, we need to have a one stop shop for our customers so they can easily have access to spare parts like panels, compressors, evaporators, etc.

Another focus is what we call our expanding out programme. As of today, we are providing services sitting in Addis Ababa, and whenever we get a call or whenever there is a need of a project, we fly in or we drive in. But what we need is to find partners, equip them with the knowledge we have, and whenever there is a small service needed, they can go to other places and get the service over there, instead of having the client wait 24 hours or 48 hours until we arrive.

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