Life has not been easy for youth in Ethiopia. Twenty-three-year-old Nesru lost his father when he was still in secondary school, unable to complete his education or find a job in his native Ethiopia, Nesru joined the trek to neighbouring Sudan. He was hopeful that the grass was greener there, however he found out the hard way that it wasn’t. After moving from one menial job to the next, Nesru gave up and decided to return home in despair. Back home, Nesru was jobless and hopeless. However, his fortunes took a brighter turn when he learnt about the Rural Youth Enterprise Graduate Program in Ethiopia. The project is being implemented by Silatech, Qatar Fund for Development and Oromia Finance Institution to support young entrepreneurs. He decided to start his own business. Being in a rural community, Nesru collaborated with five friends to establish a business to lease agricultural equipment to farmers. They were provided with professional training in the agriculture field, and entrepreneurial skills before getting the finance to buy agricultural equipment.

The entrepreneurial business would not only provide a steady income for the youth but also increase productivity for the farmers. With the success he made, Nesru and his company are now well known in their local community.