BusinessMIDROC to retain name in Ethiopia despite rebrand in Sweden
MIDROC to retain name in Ethiopia despite rebrand in Sweden
July 20, 2024
The executives of MIDROC, the largest private business conglomerate in Ethiopia, say the giant will retain its brand name domestically despite a makeover in Sweden, where it has changed its branding to Granitor.
“We changed our identity from MIDROC to Granitor. The brand MIDROC is today used by a wide range of operations with different constellations of owners in Sweden, the Middle East, and Africa, The company group MIDRO Europe is owned by Mohammed Al Amoudi together with the Swedish Wikström family,” reads the newly-minted Granitor website. “The rebranding will give us an even clearer Nordic connection to support the continued growth of our various operations.”
The website indicates the rebranding is a “natural progression” resulting from the Wikström family’s increased holdings in the firm at the expense of Al-Amoudi’s transition into a “more long-term minority owner and financier.”
Seid Mohammed, head of communications and public relations at MIDROC Ethiopia, says there are no plans to change the company’s name domestically.
“We are MIDROC Investment Group. The only thing that relates the MIDROC in Ethiopia to the MIDROC in Sweden is that they’re owned by Sheikh Al-Amoudi. The management of the two is different. There are no plans to change the name of MIDROC Ethiopia to Granitor,” Seid told The Reporter.
He refrained from disclosing the nature of the relationship between the two firms, including the nature of any financial arrangements between them.
However, inside sources claim that the rebranding may take place in Ethiopia eventually. They allege the rebranding in Scandinavia was a direct result of Sheikh Al-Almoudi’s detention in Saudi Arabia on allegations of corruption, which has negatively affected the company’s image in Europe.
“MIDROC Investment Group is operating as part of the global MIDROC International owned by the internationally acclaimed entrepreneur Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi. It is engaged in multifaceted business ventures, operating in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the United States of America,” according to the MIDROC Investment Group incorporated in Ethiopia.
MIDROC is an acronym for Mohammed International Development Research and Organization Companies.
The conglomerate has seen a number of investment properties appropriated by the government following the 2018 political reform in Ethiopia.
The Mahmadya Residential Village, a 50 billion birr residential complex under construction in Addis Ababa, has recently grown to become its core project.