"Cash flow is more important than profit." — Mukemil Bedru Our guest for this episode is Mukemil Bedru, Founder & Managing Partner of Valcrest Capital, and Co-Founder of Hijra Bank. From helping establish Ethiopia's first generation of investment banking institutions to advising businesses through one of the country's biggest economic transitions, Mukemil brings a front-row perspective on the future of Ethiopian finance. In this conversation, we unpack Ethiopia's changing capital markets, foreign banks, startup financing, investment banking, and the policy shifts reshaping the economy. Mukemil also shares why cash flow matters more than profit, how he hires and builds teams, and why entrepreneurs must build institutions—not just businesses. Shik Cleaning Service: You can reach their Service Via: 0940270521 / 0997298286 https://www.shikcleaning.com/ Visit the Bank of Abyssinia Official Website: https://www.bankofabyssinia.com/ GIZ: https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2023-en-private-sector-development-in-ethiopia.pdf Amibara Properties: You can reach their sales and corporate consulting teams via the following contact lines:- Line 1: +251 901 69 69 69 Line 2: +251 969 36 36 36 To advertise on Meri: https://meri.et/advertise +251974255555 info@meri.et Social Links https://t.me/MERI_PODCAST https://twitter.com/MERI_Podcast https://www.instagram.com/meripodcast/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKNuQ80qNSpt2x-7dsazJg https://youtube.com/@Meriwoch?si=yIpJ3byprnVNwKi1 https://youtube.com/@mericlipset?si=wwa0KeQ_Nv2aPy9l https://www.tiktok.com/@meripodcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/meriethiopian/ Copyright Notice for Meri Podcast: All rights reserved. The content featured in this podcast is protected by copyright laws. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or modification of any portion of this podcast is strictly prohibited. For permission to use our content, please contact us at info@meri.et Thank you for respecting our copyright.