IN CENTRAL STOCKHOLM, next to the Drottninggatan throng, we find Gibe Travel Agency. The travel agency was founded in 1996 and offers everything from package tours to far away countries to weekend trips. However, trips to countries like Bhutan, Malaysia and Ethiopia are the core business. The company has eight employees today, but when everything started in the 90s, Moreda Diriba was running the business by himself.
– I started on my own and rented a chair at a travel agency in Stockholm, he says. In the beginning, he was selling trips to Ethiopia and other African countries to his friends, but when rumours started to spread, destinations expanded as well as the customer base.
In October of 2005, Gibe Travel Agency opened
their offices in Addis Adeba
A LITTLE MORE than three years ago, an idea grew of setting up a travel agency abroad. There are many reasons why Moreda Diriba chose Addis Abeba. First and foremost, he has his roots in Ethiopia and since Gibe Travel offers many trips to Africa, that city would work well as a hub. Having researched the market and established a need, the question of financing remained.
– We could never finance the entire project ourselves and had to find someone interested in helping us, says Zoya Diriba.
HAVING LOOKED FOR possible sponsors, they found Nutek on the Internet. The purpose of setting up in Addis Abeba is to improve and assist Ethiopian women in getting a professional life. This comports with Nutek’s terms and Gibe Travel was granted financing. In October of 2005, the office in Addis Abeba opened and Moreda and Zoya Diriba are very pleased by having taken this chance.
– We only have female employees at the travel agency and we have noticed an improvement in their self confidence since we started, says Moreda Diriba.
Thanks to the travel agency in Addis Abeba, Gibe Travel is marketing Sweden as a destination.
– Not many people know about Sweden, so this is a great opportunity for us to market our country, says Moreda Diriba.
GIBE TRAVEL HAS great ambitions for the future and one goal is to develop tourism in Ethiopia. Last December, the first package tour was arranged, focusing on animals, nature and culture. Moreda and Zoya Diriba dream about starting something similar with destination Kolmården and are talking to Kolmården management about a possible collaboration.
Emelie Ring
Photo: Stefan Berry