About the Founder...
Welcome, and thank you for choosing to collaborate with Deldeyoch—a name that means "bridges" in Amharic.
From a young age, I dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur, a conscious traveler, and a seeker of truth—a free spirit driven by purpose. Raised in a hardworking, awakened, spiritual, purpose-driven, sharp, conservative, & entrepreneurial family, I learned the values of financial independence, discipline, having boundaries, working hard for what I needed, focused, not taking no for an answer, the art of silence, spiritual purpose driven, patience, and ambition to become anything I dreamt following my intuition. These principles, combined with a thirst for knowledge, led me to explore the world through books, travel, and diverse careers, detached from most things, focused, & ultimately shaping my passion to serve being my authentic self in an emerging market, under Deldeyoch in 2010
After graduating with distinction from high school and getting a full scholarship to pursue university in the US or Ethiopia, I chose my undergraduate at Addis Abeba University, and my MBA at Seattle University. I was focused, disciplined & establish myself as a successful executive in Ethiopia and the U.S. I felt ready to pursue a more impactful path, despite a thriving career in the financial industry in the wealthiest nation and state in the Pacific North West. I saved to invest in myself, my dreams, vision, & serving in Africa, and Ethiopia specifically.
While pursuing my MBA in Seattle, I was headhunted to co-found an innovative commercial bank in Ethiopia, becoming the youngest woman COO in the country, Zemen bank. I led the creation of policies, hired senior management, and aligned the visions of stakeholders, resulting in a pioneering institution which we inaugurated in a year with all its setbacks and barriers to entry. The bank broke even in the first year, to make a profit for the largest shareholders in the country—a rare global achievement in the financial Industry.
After this success, I took a sabbatical to reflect on my next steps. I traveled solo across Ethiopia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S., seeking clarity on how to contribute to Africa’s development. I was shocked at the desperation & lack of basic infrastructure in Ethiopia and most of Africa, as well as the influence of policies benefiting the international community rather than Africans. My goal was to leverage my skills, technology, advocate financial inclusion, capacity building in underserved societies, focus on economic and social development, & engage with the youth, university, policy makers, stakeholders, private and public sector as well as the international community. I was inspired by the wealth, healing and impact-driven growth of my fathers, who taught me self-sufficiency & autonomy over my choices, as well as the policymakers of the Pacific North West, who invested in its impeccable entrepreneurship ecosystems for MSME to thrive, as well as taking care of its natural resources. My vision, dream and mission was to be part of a conduit of change, learning on the Job, to transform my life, my families, community, society & humanity from aid to trade, by taking responsibility & accountability to lead my life as such.
Throughout my journey, I inherited a sense of responsibility from my fathers to live a spiritual purpose-driven life, so I took the reign, remained committed to fostering sustainable economic development wherever I serve, while being private, focused and disciplined. I chose projects with ownership buy-in, streamlined systems, and focused on inclusion and sustainability. I served as the first CEO of Ethiopia’s Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDI) in collaboration with UNDP and the government, prioritizing impact over titles or perks.
The push to launch Deldeyoch came as a tribute to my fathers—my mentors and idols—who taught me the importance of discipline, faith, and service. My mothers, sisters, and friends projection of fear taught me how to navigate patriarchal & matriarchal outdated systems with fearless courage, awareness, and authenticity despite tests, challenges and curves. Traveling solo, reading extensively, being bold in my faith, private, & embracing life’s challenges made me self-aware, empathetic, and fearlessly alive. I learned to navigate the complexities of an emerging market—power outages, inflation, gender bias, families that betrayed you, the impact of Aid & Delopment on the Pychi of Africans, outdated forced institutions without checks & balance, civil unrest, the heavy burden placed on woman, unforeseen circumstances and the level of humanities neglect leading to desperations that breaks ones heart, challenges your authenticity, as as one can learn lessons through lived experience.
Deldeyoch’s mission is to create a network of conscious entrepreneurs who drive impactful change through knowledge-sharing, workshops, and community living. My goal is to build a sustainable lifestyle that nurtures spirit, health, and wealth while embodying service, gratitude, and compassion. By staying authentic, I hope to create a space where others feel valued, heard, and inspired to continue our ancestors’ legacy. Life is not a contest to see who can be liked the most, it should be riven by spiritual purpose, in humility, selflessness to God, vulnerability knowing ones own shadow, sharp, playful, alert, joyful, vigilant and in kindness.
Celebrating Deldeyoch’s 15 years, I am grateful for the collaborations that have allowed us to complete over 20 projects in emerging markets and travel to 30 countries, half of which were traveling in Africa. We look forward to serving you with innovative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions to help you achieve your vision of success.
Thank you for your support, insights, and constructive feedback.
Dutchess @deldeyoch.com
“Take only pictures, leave only footprints, kill nothing but time.” ☆ Conscious Travel
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"Bridging the gap to enhance the business ecosystem by fostering inclusivity, driving innovation, creating impactful solutions, embracing digitalization, promoting sustainability, and ensuring profitability."
