Hens Ready for the Easter Holiday

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑷𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝑷𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒖 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍

ARBA MINCH, Ethiopia– As markets across the region gear up for the Easter (Fasika) holiday, one entrepreneur in Arba Minch is ensuring holiday tables are well-supplied. Behailu Daniel, the 25-year-old founder of Amen Poultry Farming, is preparing to supply 7,000 chickens to the market—a milestone that marks his journey from a Grade 8 dropout to a nationally recognized model entrepreneur.

Behailu’s path was never easy. Following the passing of his mother eight years ago, he supported his five siblings and his father by working as a parking attendant. From those small savings, he bought his first five chickens.

The early days were defined by perseverance. After losing 80 chickens to disease, Behailu refused to quit. When supply chain delays threatened his progress, he took matters into his own hands, engineering a homegrown, locally fabricated incubator. Today, he produces incubators with a capacity of 1,000 eggs, retailing between 100,000 and 180,000 ETB.

Exactly one year ago, Behailu faced a devastating setback. During the Easter rush, while his wife was in labor, a worker accidentally left a door open. Predators broke in, claiming the lives of 2,000 chickens—a 700,000 ETB loss in a single night.

“In business, challenges are the seeds of innovation,” Behailu said. “When I lost my stock that night, I didn’t see an end; I saw a reason to work harder for my family.”

Reflecting on that pivotal moment and his resilience in the face of loss, he named his newborn daughter Fasika. Today, as she turns one, the business has fully recovered, distributing 26,000 chickens in the last quarter alone.

Behailu mainly credits the rapid institutional growth of his business to the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI)-led SEED program, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. Through the program, he received capacity-building training, business development services and access to finance. Since the intervention, the enterprise’s revenue has seen a remarkable surge, and its capital has reached 2.8 million ETB. This growth has allowed Behailu to create 24 jobs and purchase a 600-square-meter property for further expansion.

Beyond his own success, Behailu is empowering his community through an innovative outgrower model. In this system, Behailu provides day-old chicks and technical support to unemployed local youth, who raise the poultry in their own spaces until they are ready for market. This partnership creates a win-win: it reduces Behailu’s overhead costs while providing a steady income and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people who lack the capital to start from scratch.

His efforts were recognized in July 2025 by the Ministry of Labor and Skills, which honored him as a national model enterprise in the agriculture sector.

Today, surrounded by his wife and four children(including little Fasika), Behailu is looking toward an even bolder future. His goal is to scale Amen Poultry into a major investment hub, producing one million day-old chicks within two years to bring affordable poultry products and sustainable jobs to the surrounding community.

This Easter, Behailu Daniel stands as a shining example of how local innovation, fueled by the right institutional support, can transform lives.