Exclusive interview with Daniel Tsegaye, a longstanding green entrepreneur and CEO of Aries Investment, based in Ethiopia. They were part of the Pitch Programme at AGES with their investment-ready EV charging infrastructure project.
Q: Thank you for joining us, Daniel. Let’s start with some background on you and Aries Investment.
It’s a pleasure to be here. My name is Daniel Tsegaye, and I have been an entrepreneur for the past two decades, working across education, agriculture, and industry. Through my journey, I have witnessed how inefficient urban planning leads to larger environmental and economic challenges. From deforestation caused by unchecked city expansion to traffic congestion and outdated infrastructure draining energy, it became clear to me that cities must be designed smarter if we are serious about tackling climate change and economic inefficiencies.
This realization led me to establish Aries Investment, a company dedicated to building smart urban mobility solutions through automated parking, EV charging infrastructure, and digital parking management. Our goal is simple: optimize city spaces, reduce emissions, and promote sustainable economic growth in Africa.
Q: Your EV charging and automated parking project is gaining a lot of attention. Can you tell us more about it and its impact on sustainable urban mobility?
Certainly! Our project is tackling multiple urban mobility challenges, all while supporting Ethiopia’s transition to clean transportation:
– Automated Parking Systems – One of the biggest issues in urban planning is the inefficient use of space. Traditional parking lots consume valuable land that could be used for green spaces, housing, or public infrastructure. Our automated parking reduces space requirements by 70%, allowing cities to be better organized and more sustainable.
– Next-Generation EV Charging Infrastructure – One of the most common issues with traditional charging stations is inefficiency. EV owners often plug in their cars and leave for work or other errands, leaving the charging station occupied for hours even after the vehicle is fully charged. This means fewer vehicles get access to charging stations, creating unnecessary bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
Our automated EV charging system solves this issue. When an EV is fully charged, the system automatically shuffles the vehicle to another slot, freeing up the charger for the next user. This means:
✅ More cars can be charged with the same number of charging stations
✅ No wasted time due to idle parked cars occupying chargers
✅ A more efficient and scalable charging network
– Digital Parking Management – In Addis Ababa, over 200 youth groups currently manage parking fees manually, using a paper-based, cash-handling system. This method is not only prone to errors and inefficiencies but also contributes to deforestation for paper production. Our digital parking management solution eliminates these issues by introducing a fully cashless, transparent, and automated system. This ensures:
✔️ Better income opportunities for youth workers
✔️ Reduced corruption and mismanagement
✔️ A more efficient, scalable system that can be expanded to other cities
Our approach is not just about solving a parking problem—it’s about reshaping urban mobility for a cleaner, more sustainable future.
Q: What kind of investment are you looking for?
We are currently seeking equity investors to raise $110-115 million for our project of 20 buildings, each with 324 parking spaces and 100 charging capacity and a total of 6,800 vehicles at a time.
This project presents a strong investment opportunity because:
Q: Ethiopia is pushing for more nature-based solutions. How does your project contribute to climate change mitigation?
Ethiopia has massive potential in nature-based climate solutions. However, if urban expansion continues without smart planning, deforestation will increase, and emissions will keep rising. That’s why solutions like automated parking and EV infrastructure are crucial.
– Unplanned urban expansion = more roads, more deforestation, and more fossil fuel dependency.
– Smart city planning = optimized land use, lower emissions, and sustainable urban growth.
Our project directly contributes to Ethiopia’s carbon reduction goals by:
✅ Eliminating fuel-based congestion
✅ Reducing deforestation caused by traditional parking paper systems
✅ Optimizing electricity use with automated EV charging
Sustainable urban planning isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s an economic and social issue. Without smart mobility solutions, Africa’s cities will struggle with inefficiencies that make economic growth slower and more costly.
Q: How important is green entrepreneurship in Africa? What are the main challenges and opportunities?
Green entrepreneurship is not just important—it’s Africa’s future. The continent is rapidly urbanizing, and if we fail to integrate sustainability now, we will face catastrophic economic and environmental challenges.
The opportunities are enormous:
– Clean energy investments are scaling up
– EV adoption is accelerating, requiring new infrastructure
– Smart city technologies are reducing waste and improving efficiency
The challenges?
– Lack of investment in large-scale green projects
– sometimes Regulatory bottlenecks and outdated urban policies
– Infrastructure limitations that slow clean energy adoption
Our project overcomes these challenges by combining government support, smart technology, and private investment to make green urban mobility a profitable and scalable reality.
Q: How does the Africa’s Green Economy Summit help showcase projects like yours to the world?
The African Green Economy Summit is one of the most powerful platforms for showcasing innovative, high-impact projects that are shaping the continent’s sustainable future. It’s not just a conference—it’s a global stage for:
– Connecting African entrepreneurs with international investors
– Highlighting Africa’s green innovations to global markets
– Influencing policymakers to accelerate green economy adoption
Events like these are critical because they help bridge the gap between innovative projects and the capital needed to scale them. When governments, investors, and entrepreneurs align on sustainability goals, real change happens.
Our participation in such summits ensures that Aries Investment is recognized internationally, not just as an Ethiopian project but as a blueprint for green urban mobility in Africa.
Q: Anything you would like to add?
Yes—we are ready to scale, and we welcome partners who share our vision. Africa needs bold, scalable solutions to address its urban mobility and environmental challenges.
– At Aries Investment, we don’t just talk about sustainability—we build it.
To all the investors, policymakers, and decision-makers reading this:
– The time for green urban mobility is now. Let’s build Africa’s sustainable future together.
Africa's Green Economy Summit connects industry professionals and organisations to information and each other in a carefully curated live environment. Its purpose is to support in mobilising investments for green projects to scale up and industrialisation, which will have a significant impact on environmental sustainability and economic growth.
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