Ex-Wegagen Head to head ACDI/VOCA
May 21, 2006
By WUDINEH ZENEBE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Brutawit Dawit Abdi, former head of Wegagen Bank is the newest country representative of ACDI/VOCA (Agricultural Cooperatives Development International/Volunteers Oversees Cooperatives Association).
Brutawit will serve as the head of the Ethiopia project portfolio, directing the work of the Ethiopia field staff and consultants in both project implementation and new business development, according to a press release.
ACDI/VOCA is an international economic development firm that was established in 1963. Since then, the organization has been active in over 145 countries across the world. VOCA is funded by USAID, the United States department of Agriculture, the World Bank, United Nations Development Program, and regional development banks. It is currently implementing 90 projects on almost 40 countries. In 2005 the firm earned over 90 million dollars in revenues.
Before taking up her latest position, the former banker had been running two of her own horticulture farms in the Dilla and Zeway areas of the Oromia Regional State with a total area of close to 60ht. The farms grow vegetables including onions, tomatoes and radishes.
“The work that I have been doing on the farm since it began five years ago is really more of a hobby than anything else,” said Brutawit.
She has been providing the harvest to the local market. The press release indicates that some of the goods produced on the farm are also exported to Europe.
In addition to her first hand experience in the banking sector and the knowledge that she has gained from working on her own farm, Brutawit is the ideal candidate for the job, according to a statement attributed Joshua Walton, senior vice-president for Africa and the Middle East at VOCA in the press release.
“Brutawit is an exceptionally talented banker and businesswoman respected in her industry both within Ethiopia and internationally,” he said in the press release.
Prior to joining VOCA, Brutawit has worked in the capacity of head of Wegagen Bank for seven years. She was senior consultant to Coopers and Lybrand in Bahrain, and a consultant for the African Development Bank. Brutawit also served as the president of the Ethiopian Professional and Business Women’s Association.
“She was diligent, professional, and hardworking at the time that she was heading Wegagen. She always gave an opportunity to her juniors to have ample access and say in the development and implementation of policy. Most importantly, she was open to criticism and suggestions,” said her former assistant at the Bank.
Having spent her time in higher education in Washington DC, Brutawit earned her bachelors in management and international trade at Howard University and earned her MBA at George Washington University.
“Brutawit brings to ACDI/VOCA considerable skills in commercial banking systems, investment banking, strategic management, business diagnostics, and business association strengthening”, says the press release.