Summary
Founded in 2003, Beza Mar is one of the pioneering honey export companies in Ethiopia, with a presence in European, American and Asian markets. The company owns a processing plant on 2,500 square meters of land, strategically located in Adama, near Addis Ababa, providing access to quality organic honey and honey products for both the domestic and export market.
They are, reportedly, the first honey company in the country to receive organic certification, holding both ISO 22000 and organic certification.
Ethiopia is uniquely situated for honey cultivation, as there are no known diseases that could impact bee populations nor are there GMO crops cultivated in the country. These factors contribute to the high demand for the company’s organic, pure high-grade honey internationally.
Investment Thesis
Ethiopia is only harnessing 10% of its honey resources and there is a notable demand for Ethiopian honey globally, with already established favorable export markets such as the European Union and United States.5
Beza Mar’s strong reputation in the international market presents a compelling investment case for consideration. With an appropriate investment, the company will be able to increase supply of quality inputs for its consumer products and expand its export capacity and market reach domestically, regionally, and internationally.
Refugee Impact
Beekeeping is a skilled and labor-intensive practice. As the company expands, it could provide beekeeping training to refugees. Refugees could then care for hives and earn income by selling honey directly to Beza Mar.
This also presents the opportunity for host / refugee interaction and community building by providing capacity building trainings for both populations. Support networks could be further built out of these interactions for beekeepers to share best practices and pool production for sale to Beza Mar.
Beekeepers working with Beza Mar have seen improvements to their standard of living. The income earned has led to the building of improved housing structures and the ability for the company’s workers to send their children to school. Beza Mar has also encouraged the cultivation of bee-friendly crops in the area, such as coffee, which can further increase household income and support other industries in the region.
Structure
P.L.C. (Ethiopia)