A few years ago, Japanese entrepreneur Yuma Sasaki moved to Ethiopia to establish Dodai, an electric motorcycle company that assembles its bikes locally in Addis Ababa. In a recent interview with How we made it in Africa, he shared why he chose Ethiopia as the location for his business.

Sasaki cited Ethiopia’s large population of approximately 132 million people, which presents a substantial market for a range of products and services. He also highlighted the country’s young demographic, with a median age of 18.9 years. The population is expected to grow to 170 million by 2035, further reinforcing the country’s market potential.

Another reason Sasaki chose Ethiopia is its reputation as a challenging business environment, which he believes offers first-mover advantages.

“I believe that when there’s big potential and everybody says that it’s too difficult or it’s not popular as a market – there’s real big potential,” he explains. “When everybody starts saying that, ‘Wow, there’s a good opportunity’, often it’s too late.”

He added: “You have to look at the markets that have big potential, but also the vast majority of people say that, ‘No, no, no, it’s too risky’. Then I see real opportunity … And if you make it – big return. So that’s why I looked at Ethiopia.”

Watch our full in-depth interview with Yuma Sasaki: How this Japanese entrepreneur started an e-motorbike business in Ethiopia