Draft:Buzuayehu T. Bizenu

Buzuayehu Tadele Bizenu is an Ethiopian businessman and entrepreneur. Buzuayehu is known as the founder and chairman of East African Holding, a leading industrial conglomerate in Ethiopia. The company he chairs is known for a significant involvement in FMCG (fast moving customer goods) production, tea and coffee processing, printing and packaging, transport, real estate, cement production, and mining.

Early life
Buzuayehu was born in the town of Hagere Selam, but his family moved to Dila while he was only two years old. He completed his elementary education at Emperor Dawit Primary School, and completed his secondary school education in Addis Ababa, at Teferi Mekonnen School.

Buzuayehu was born to a family actively engaged in business activities, dating back to 1891, which started when his grandfather Bizenu Cheru traded ivory, cattle, and coffee.

Buzuayehu's father, Tadele Bizenu, along with his brother Mengiste Bizenu, following in the footsteps of his father, expanded the family business into real estate and coffee refinery. However, in 1974 the Derg revolution came and most of the family's assets were nationalized. Although the family lost most of their assets consequently, they continued to thrive with what was left.

Business career
Buzuayehu became the successor of the family's coffee-washing and processing business in 1976. After three years, in 1979, he started expanding the business into other sectors as well. By 1987, under Buzuayehu's leadership, the family business ventured into general trading, as well as the import and distribution of various goods. Later on, the company entered into manufacturing.

For a span of over four decades, Buzuayehu and the company he leads have ventured into agriculture and agro-processing (tea and coffee), industry park setup and lease, soap and detergent manufacturing, personal care products manufacturing, sole and retail trading, real estate development, freight transport and logistics services, mining, and cement production.

Buzuayehu's most recent business move is the joint venture (JV) he set up in Lemi National Cement. The JV, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2024, has a production capacity of 10,000 TPD clinkers or 4.5 million tons of Cement (PPC) per year, and is set to be the largest of its kind in Africa.

Business Philosophy
Buzuayehu implements a decentralized policy in his group of companies, East African Holding. He holds as core to do business honestly, a virtue he says is driven into him by his father. He publicly expresses pride in his company's significant tax contributions.

In addition to this, he believes in developing a corporate culture that can solidly carry the family-owned business as a modern multinational entity.

Philanthropy
In May 2019, Buzuayehu Tadele and His Family Foundation was established to carry out Buzuayehu's philanthropic efforts in an organized manner.

Buzuayehu's philanthropic efforts include ongoing meal-sharing and feeding, building housing complexes and shops for the poor, greenery projects, financial support for students, and holiday meal-sharing and provision, among others.

Personal Life
Buzuayehu is married and lives in Addis Ababa. He has six children, three boys and three girls.