Join us for this episode with Dawit Hailu, founder and director of a growing Ethiopian conglomerate known for Akkoo Coffee and Wudassie Diagnostic Center, with ventures across health, hospitality, education, and technology. In this conversation: Dawit's origin story and first steps in business, how Akkoo Coffee started, lessons from cafe in Ethiopia and Dubai including covering menu curation, customer behavior, balancing supply and demand, and service excellence. We also cover his approach to diversification, contributions in the healthcare space, the story behind Wudassie Diagnostic Center, and his efforts in the education sector. More from our partners: Dashen Bank Website: https://dashenbanksc.com Telegram: https://t.me/DashenBankEthiopia Noah Real Estate Website: https://noahrealestateplc.com/ BPO Partnership Form: https://forms.gle/PsAVBP1vXCvhKXFP6 https://www.thereliable.tech/ To advertise on Meri: https://meri.et/advertise 00:00 - Introduction 03:11 - Opening 04:14 - Journey 19:40 - Leadership style 28:28 - Fast scale up 31:16 - Hiring talent 49:45 - Talent management 39:27 - Jorgo Academy 46:12 - Akko coffee 56:46 - Branching out 01:03:40 - Expansion limitations 01:05:42 - Quality control 01:08:08 - System software 01:09:01 - Input management 01:16:44 - Advice for people who want to open a new restaurant 01:20:32 - Scammers 01:23:33 - Akko Dubai 01:38:03 - Akko finance model 01:43:49 - Return on investment 01:48:14 - Other businesses (consultancy, training and tech) 02:10:16 - Rundown questions 02:13:21 - Daily routine 02:16:53 - Life wisdom 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.