First of all, I would like to thank you for sharing your experience.

Your perseverance and sense of urgency, which began at an early age, were exemplified when you travelled to Japan and successfully completed your CCIE exam on time. This mindset has remained a constant throughout your journey and has been passed on to IE employees—a culture that every entrepreneur aspires to create.

While the visible success of your company is undeniable, it all stems from the personal perspective and attitude you have meticulously cultivated over time. Every chapter of your book captivated me with your thought process—how positive, forward-thinking, and intentional you are in building a legacy. Not driven by self-exaggeration, your efforts are focused on improving productivity, enhancing lives, and contributing to the broader business domain and the country’s development as a whole.

What truly amazes me is your ability to adopt not only strategic thinking in leading your business but also a profound understanding of managing people—the human aspect of leadership. Even when faced with challenges, such as losing many employees to competitors offering better pay, you maintained your reputation and a positive outlook. You embraced the idea that those employees, now working elsewhere, continue to contribute significantly to Ethiopia’s digital transformation.
This selfless perspective, coupled with your ability to view challenges through a broad and optimistic lens, is a testament to your visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to long-term impact.

You have shared with us not only how someone can achieve success but also inspired us to ask, “Why not me?” You have shown us what needs to be done, how to do it, and how to sustain success. More importantly, you emphasized that success is not a one-man show. Instead, it involves changing perspectives and creating a new culture—a culture where a team learns from the ground up and grows together through continuous development.

I found this book to be a pocket encyclopedia about Ethiopia, where you have meticulously laid out the past, present, and future of doing business in the country. You speak directly to young people, encouraging them to be courageous. Despite Ethiopia’s history as one of the world’s ancient nations and a former business hub, it is now among the poorest countries, grappling with unimaginable and unpredictable challenges. Yet, your message is clear, if one is hardworking, sets clear goals, dreams ambitiously, and implements plans wisely, step by step “YES, YOU CAN!”. Life is all about choices and continuous self assessment to understand how one is better than yesterday. No matter circumstance, being out of the “geographical lottery” is not a barrier nor determine what to achieve.

Someone once described the Ethiopian market as “unpredictable and unable to be evaluated by any best practices or standards” due to the many challenges you highlighted in several chapters of your book. These challenges stem from interconnected aspects of life:
– Home: The way parents raise their children shapes fundamental values.
– School: The level of creativity, innovation, and self-initiative fostered in education.
– Friends: The influence of peers during formative years, shaping good or bad habits.
– Work: The work environment and culture individuals become accustomed to.
– Government: The extent to which democratic, open-minded, inclusive, and supportive policies are implemented.
Each of these steps has a domino effect—if one is problematic, it impacts the others, leading to long-term, systemic issues that feel almost incurable.
However, I remain hopeful that these phenomena will change, thanks to positive and thoughtful individuals like you. A true patriot and homegrown entrepreneur, selfless and committed to sharing your invaluable experiences.

When referencing Ethiopian business contexts, I sometimes draw examples from abroad. But for Ethiopia, there is no better reference than “ETHIOPIA INCORPORATED.” This book will always remain in my bag. With your permission, I will use it as a reference to inspire the youth and address business-related matters in Ethiopia.

One very important point you raised, which always resonates with me, is the importance of acting in a timely manner—avoiding the tendency to wait for someone else to take the first step and risking being too late to make things happen. You emphasized the significance of striving for success within one’s lifetime through consistent efforts and building a strong reputation. However, you took it a step further by urging us to “be creative, be different, be daring, be your own role model, and be the first.“

You also challenge the government to move away from an inefficient culture toward a mindset of “let’s do it collectively with a clear goal.” You emphasize the need to lead the country like a well-run enterprise that creates better living standards for everyone. This includes enabling success by reducing bureaucracy, implementing straightforward policies and processes, and ultimately addressing key issues like poverty, internal conflict, and chronic corruption that hinder progress.

Your entrepreneurial mindset and leadership of your company demonstrate that, as a purely homegrown and successful entrepreneur, it is indeed possible to build and sustain a modern, thriving business in Ethiopia. This success serves as a powerful example of how businesses can be led innovatively, ensuring their continuity and passing on the torch to others.
Such a mindset should not only inspire the youth and new entrepreneurs but also influence government officials who claim patriotism. True patriotism requires hard work and a commitment to serving the people without creating barriers, obstacles, or unnecessary bureaucracy. If this approach is adopted, the Ethiopian people can thrive, fostering a culture that encourages and inspires a business-minded, progressive nation.

“… if people believe that they can change, it is possible to change. If Ethiopia is to flourish with a robust private sector, it must run like a company itself- accompany called Ethiopia Incorporated, a unification of many arms that come together to identify problems, brainstorm innovative solutions accept investments, and generate revenue. A company wit a clear and transparent hierarchies, OKR, communicated expectations and consequences, and a value proposition that signifies a greater objective- one that people can truly rally around”.

“Most importantly, Ethiopia Incorporated must have a mission statement understood by everyone in the company, from the new hires to the executives: Transform Africa business and transform life as a result”.

You raised a good point also about the BPO opportunity as Ethiopia is a “sleeping giant”. I totally agree that having consistent and reliable Internet  without any censorship is one that allow to foreign companies to enter to Ethiopia BPO market opportunity and perhaps stimulate to be active that “Sleeping giant”.  

Regarding your company, IE Network Service, and your employees, I have found them to be highly professional, consistent, and time-oriented in handling their responsibilities. Although it has been less than a year since our collaboration began, working with your company and team has proven the truth of the principles you outlined in your book. Having spent a quarter of a century abroad, learning best practices, work culture, and ethics, I can confidently say that cultivating a world-class business environment and professionalism in Ethiopia’s IT industry is a remarkable achievement. This is something I have personally witnessed and experienced firsthand through our partnership.
I feel truly fortunate to collaborate with you in building a strong foundation for youth and developing a solid knowledge base through your talent academy. From my experience with your company, I can see the team and culture you have fostered bearing fruit, and I am confident it will continue to blossom and grow even stronger in the future.

My colleagues at DEMERA and I are excited to be part of the capacity-building initiative through your Talent Academy. We are fully committed to taking this initiative to the next level. Our collaboration will open doors for young people and women, igniting an entrepreneurial mindset and preparing them to become skilled individuals who can serve themselves, support others, and contribute meaningfully to their country.
We are truly inspired by your insightful knowledge and the call to action you have shared with us. We wholeheartedly embrace your message, understanding that this is not the responsibility of one individual, one company, or even one government. As you so eloquently stated, it is a collective responsibility—a continuous process of development passed from one to another: from individuals to communities, from companies to companies, from governments to governments, and from citizens to citizens. Now, in response to your call, we are ready to take our part by supporting the capacity-building initiative and contributing to this shared vision for a brighter future.

I could have written much more about this book, but I’ll save it for the future and keep the well-deserved credit for you 😊. I am excited about the opportunity to meet you in person soon and discuss further.

Teddy Guday, January 2, 2025