Steps into autonomy

Accompaniment skills, counseling, discipline, patience, enthusiasm … are steps in the autonomy: a letter from Addis Ababa

In his short stay in Addis Ababa, the project leader in Lalibela, Messay Mequanent, writes the following lines to the PBF on May 4th:

Dear Dr.Peter,

I am writing you this email with pleasure to let you know our visit of Eskatinaf today. I and Fiseha went to see his startup business and I came back with a full of hope sprit on him after I saw what he is doing so far.

His business named as “PBF Internet Cafe and Bicycle Maintenance”  is located  around a very busy business street called 22 (haya hulet). He is starting the business in a small renting room in the ground floor of a building which is somehow an ideal place for that business.
He bought 5 DELL computers, one scanner, chairs, tables. And he also bought very few bicycle spare parts which he planning to do side by side.
He will get the internet line access from the ethiotelecom soon and he will be able to start the actual work as soon as he get the line
access. He is planning  to start the business with seven computers (6
for customers and 1 for as a controlling computer for the six). So he needs 2 more computers.

Of course, he bought a scanner. But he still needs some other stuffs
like a copy machine, printer, binding machine and other accessories.
Because people who go to internet cafes usually print papers from the web then copy and bind in any size they want; they prefer to get the full service they want in a single place.

Anyways, you will receive the detailed report from Fiseha. But for me, it is a very good bounce especially for a boy for whom we lost all our confidence and trust sometime before. Of course, I thought that it is only a bicycle spare par shop. But later, I realized that he shift the business to an internet cafe keeping the bicycle maintenance side by side. I discussed with Fiseha in this regard and he told me that as if Eskatinaf had notified him when he was planning to change the business idea.

Eskatinaf was planning to open a bicycle spare part just because he
has the passion; but he never analyze the marketing. And it was really difficult to find an ideal place where he can get more customers. Those are the main reasons he wanted to change the business.

So in my opinion, it doesn’t matter whether he is in a bicycle business, internet cafe, supermarket, shop…. The main point we have to look at is its success in that particular business. Of course, we are not sure how long it takes to be successful, but I believe we have to appreciate someone’s startup from the scratch.

In this regard, Eskatinaf is getting into the track and I hope he will be succeed if the follow-up continues and I want PBF to be on behalf of him until he stands on his own feet. I and Fiseha tried to tell him all his mistakes in the past and we seriously told him and advise as if he should not act in such a way afterwards.

I am happy to see him in that track. Thank you Fiseha for your contribution and let’s keep this trend.
I send you some pictures here.

Thank you very much indeed!!!
Yours, Mesay