On the upcoming episode we're joined by Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a trailblazing Ethiopian-born economist, known for her impactful work in agricultural markets and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Born in Addis Ababa, Eleni grew up in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, and is fluent in Swahili, English, Amharic, and French. She holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University, master's degrees from Michigan State University, and a bachelor's degree in economics from Cornell University.

In this episode, we delve into Eleni's pioneering role in the development of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), where she significantly improved the agricultural market infrastructure in Ethiopia. Her efforts at ECX have been instrumental in linking Ethiopian farmers and traders to the global economy, thereby enhancing productivity and reducing the country's vulnerability to food crises.

Eleni's innovative spirit led her to found Blue Moon, Ethiopia's first youth agribusiness incubator, investing in scalable businesses across various sectors including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and forestry. Blue Moon is dedicated to nurturing exceptional startup ideas with comprehensive support, including skills training, mentorship, seed funding, and access to a vast network of investors and industry experts. The incubator's program is highly competitive, with an acceptance rate of less than 1%, where selected startups undergo an intensive 4-month program in Addis Ababa.

Additionally, in 2013, Eleni launched Eleni LLC, focusing on building and investing in commodity exchanges in developing markets, including Africa.

Eleni's extraordinary contributions have earned her numerous accolades. She was named Ethiopian Person of the Year in 2010, listed among the 50 Women Shaping Africa in 2011, and received the Yara Laurate Prize for her contributions to sustainable food production. In 2012, she was recognized as one of New African Magazine's 100 Most Influential Africans and won the African Banker Icon Award. Her achievements were further acknowledged when she was granted The Power with Purpose Award from Devex and McKinsey in 2016.

0:00 – Intro
3:45 – who is Eleni
4:58 - Current activities
13:19 – challenges beside policy
22:20 – Timbuktu, i in Eleni, Branding
30:24 – What ECX accomplished?
36:44 – ECX to Africa
41:32- ECX Gap & solution
1:03:12- Former ECX Team
1:06:06 – Blue space/Blue moon
1:16:43 – entrepreneurship for development
1:48:14- opening Markets
1:50:19 – Stock exchange
1:55:39 – Personal life & having fun
2:07:46 – Most influencer
2:13:58 – What you want to accomplish in the future
2:18:03 – One wisdom

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