Holiday Businesses: A Mushrooming Trend in Ethiopia

ENA, January 6/2020 In a global experience, most people spend copious amounts of money during holiday seasons. For the most part of businesses have an ebb and flow, while the holiday season is full of buyers, other times of year sales might recede. 

For instance, average American shoppers spent about 600 billion USD only during the Christmas season.

Conversely, if an entrepreneur has a business that can cater to holiday buyers, the holidays are an ideal times start on business and earn money.

Recent growing trends in Ethiopia show that holiday seasons are becoming finest periods to earn money. Holiday’s bazaars and exhibitions are contributing massive role in creating new business ideas to earn money.

A latest global survey found that more than 75 percent of small business owners and entrepreneurs forego holidays in order to keep their business running smoothly.

Saba Odisey is one of the young entrepreneurs participating in the Christmas bazaar in the capital Addis Ababa.

Saba’s hobby was restoring candles in different forms before catering variety of handmade candles to the flea-market. She urged people to explore holidays to earn money than overspending.  

“It was just my hobby and leisure pursuit three years ago, but now it’s becoming my source of income, especially the market of candle increases during Christmas. I managed the holiday to make business instead of spending money,” she told ENA.

Fikirte Gebre is also a young entrepreneur who came up with the idea of providing sculpture, traditional table and other traditional home materials from bamboo products.

She started a small business with a capital of 1,500 Birr and now her capital grew to half of a million Birr. Fikirte affirmed that holidays in big cities of Ethiopia are becoming ideal season to earn money.

“I turned the holiday into business opportunity. This is what I call it turning every opportunity to money. So, everyone can change opportunities to business if carefully look around the environment,” she said.

Top economic expert and entrepreneur, Doctor Woretaw Bezabih, commended the emerging holiday business in Ethiopia.

Worotaw, who is also an instructor of entrepreneurship, always advocates his trainees to turn holidays to generate money. He said that traditional home materials, food and drinking stuffs and decorating materials are things that buyers are interested.

“Holidays, festivals and other cultural occasions are the best place to make money. So I advocate my trainees to prepare something that used during holidays so my trainees are always eagerly expected holidays to foster their businesses,” he said. 

The Federal Job Creation and Food Security Agency is persistently organizing holiday bazaars and exhibitions to encourage talented entrepreneurs get access to market.

Marketing Survey Director at the Agency, Zerihun Alemayu, said that the holiday bazaars and exhibitions are aimed at promoting young entrepreneurs to create job opportunities beyond earning money.