After its establishment in the late 1930s by an Italian entrepreneur, KFSC was acquired in 1952 by Emperor Haile Sellasie I. It was then nationalized and structured in 1981 as a state-owned share company. In 2012, the Company was acquired in a privatization bid by Romel General Trading PLC (ROMEL) and majority of the shares were transferred with ROMEL owning 99.9% of the Company’s shares.
Well recognized and trustworthy, ROMEL is a brand of high quality and functional electrical equipment, with more than 4,000 product collections filled with durable electrical equipment and iconic lighting – not only for the purpose of providing illumination, but also lifestyle, all the while saving energy.
Founded in 2004, ROMEL has built rich experience in its sector, serving more than 45,000 projects in Ethiopia. In 2016, ROMEL invested in manufacturing, making it the first in Ethiopia to engage in the production of electrical products. This gave the brand the privilege of controlling its quality, and helped it to offer a great deal of value for the price customers are paying – ultimately placing it in the leading position. It is now renowned not only for its unmatched before and after sales services, but also for having electrical products that are designed to be stable and timeless. For these reasons and many more, ROMEL Electrical Equipment has been the preferred brand for many real estate companies, building developers, and commercial, industrial, and residential projects.
In 2013, SGI Frontier Capital (SGI) invested in the Company and became the second major shareholder of KFSC. SGI is the first private equity with an SME fund focused on the country which is managed from Addis Ababa by an experienced team. SGI makes equity investments into strongly growing SME businesses in a range of sectors, including agro-processing, industrials, and manufacturing. SGI provides strategic and operational advisory alongside its capital investments. Furthermore, it is committed to improving the standards of corporate governance, accounting and transparency within its portfolio companies.
After privatization, we invested in changing the course of the business by designing a business recovery plan. This revolved around five key aspects – rehabilitating existing lines and revising the Company’s supply chain to ensure profitability, minimizing waste and maximizing production efficiency, restructuring the Company’s organizational structure, inspiring shareholder confidence and assuring business continuation.
This initial transformation was achieved by changing the business model and re-organizing priorities, including discontinuation of non-profitable products following a thorough review of the cost structure, implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and changing the procurement and sales strategies amongst others. We remain committed to the full implementation of our initial five year strategic roadmap, placing emphasis on the five above mentioned focus areas to improve our business cycle continuously.