Video Ethiopian-assembled cars sparks pride in local business

1. Various Holland Car Assembly Plant, Mojo, Ethiopia

2. Various Tadesse Tessema, Owner of Holland Cars

3. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Tadesse Tessema, Owner of Holland Cars

"I was exporting Ladas and other cars to be used as taxis in Addis Ababa but the vehicles were up to 22 years old. In Holland people pay to get rid of cars like these but I was exporting them to Ethiopia and I felt like I was using my homeland as a dumping ground. Whenever I arrived at the port with these cars I was ashamed of myself. So I thought that maybe I could start my own assembly line making cars here in Ethiopia."

4. Various car assembly plant

5. Various Haimanot Shume, Mechanic and Holland Car employee

6. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Haimanot Shume, Mechanic and Holland Car employee

"Since I was a child I dreamed of being a mechanic, I asked myself why I can't be better than men at this job, I think women are better at this kind of thing as we are more responsible and the quality of our work is better."

7. Various 'DOCC' car

8. Various employees working on cars

9. Various Tadesse Tessema, Owner of Holland Cars

10. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Tadesse Tessema, Owner Holland Cars

"Ethiopia has a very bad image abroad. People only see the country as having droughts and hungry people - they don't think about technology existing here. When people, like me, living abroad talk about starting up businesses like this in Ethiopia - they ask us why are you doing that? They think there is not even food in Ethiopia. This really amazes me and I think that by opening this car assembly plant - I can help to change people's views."

11. Various Tiblest Asgedom, Planning and Policy Department, Ministry of Transport and Communications

12. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Tiblest Asgedom, Planning and Policy Department, Ministry of Transport and Communications

"We support Holland Cars' strategy to minimise environmental pollution in Addis, the city is very polluted and so we support his idea to use LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas."

13. Various Anteneh Tamiru, Holland Car Customer

14. SOUNDBITE: (Amharic) Anteneh Tamiru, Holland Car Customer

"I wanted to buy something locally produced with easy access to spare parts, good mileage, comfortable and fuel efficient. When I started driving the car around the city, people would wave at me and I'd wave back. But then I started realising that they weren't waving at me, they were waving at the car because they're so proud it's Ethiopian!"

15. Various Tadesse Tessema, Owner Holland Cars, driving out of factory

LEAD IN :

Ethiopia's known as a mass producer of such commodities as coffee and leather, but one ambitious Ethiopian is introducing a new idea to the country.

Returning after nearly 30 years abroad, Tadesse Tessema has opened Ethiopia's first vehicle assembly plant - to the surprise of many Ethiopians.

STORYLINE :

Welcome to Ethiopia's first car assembly plant.

Based in the town of Mojo, 65 kilometres outside of Addis Ababa, 'Holland Car' is the brainchild of Tadesse Tessema.

Tesseme lived in the Netherlands for the last 27 years and exported cars to Ethiopia.

But he decided that if he returned to his homeland he could start a successful business and help create employment.

More than $2.5 million USD has been invested in this car assembly plant.

The Dutch government invested $650,000 USD under its 'Poverty Reduction Plan'.

As part of the deal, the Dutch government requested the company should be a joint venture between Dutch and Ethiopian companies.

The car is partially assembled in China and sent to Ethiopia's neighbour Djbouti.

It's then transported 1,000 kilometres by road to this factory south west of the Ethiopian capital where it arrives as a skeleton.

Tadesse team of 75 staff assemble the vehicles.




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