A Visionary Agripreneur: How Abrhame Endrias and Lersha are Redefining Ethiopian Agriculture

“Our vision is to make farming simple, efficient, and accessible for everyone. We believe agriculture is the gateway to a better future for Africa.”

These words, often repeated by Abrhame  Endrias, the 38-year-old Founder and Managing Director of Green Agro Solutions (GAS), are more than an ambition—they are a commitment to revolutionizing farming in Ethiopia. With a background in Business Management from Addis Ababa University, Abrhame transformed from a teacher into a trailblazing entrepreneur driven by a desire to empower smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.

Growing up, Abraham’s father, an agricultural professional, often brought home reports and research papers, sharing insights about Ethiopia’s farming challenges.

“One of the biggest issues farmers face is a lack of timely and accurate information,” his father would explain. These early conversations planted the seeds of Abrhame’s lifelong mission to transform agriculture. After graduating, Abraham began his career as a teacher. However, financial constraints and his entrepreneurial ambition led him to start a small electronics business. This early venture laid the foundation for his eventual leap into agriculture-focused entrepreneurship.

Through his groundbreaking platform, Lersha—meaning “for farming” in Amharic—Abrhame is bridging the gap between tradition and technology, empowering communities and fostering resilience.

From Humble Beginnings to Bold Leadership

Abrhame Endrias’ path to entrepreneurship was filled with challenges. He tried his hand at the electronics trade, navigating unpredictable markets and scarce resources. The setbacks only strengthened his resolve to succeed.

In 2014, with a vision to create a lasting impact, Abrhame made a daring choice: he mortgaged his family home to secure a loan. “It was the hardest decision of my life, but I knew I had to risk everything to achieve my dreams,” he says.

That leaps of faith led to Green Agro Solutions (GAS) and, in 2018, the launch of Lersha, a platform revolutionizing agriculture. Today, Lersha supports over 241,000 farmers across Ethiopia with tools, resources, and market access.

“The journey was tough, ” Abrhame recalls, “but I believed in the transformative power of agriculture. For me, it is more than just a business—it is a mission to make farming accessible and profitable for all.”

Lersha employs an innovative “phygital” model, combining digital tools with personalized support to deliver practical solutions to farmers. Its core services include:

• Mechanization: Providing modern equipment for efficient land preparation and harvesting.
• Market Linkages: Connecting farmers directly to buyers with transparent pricing.
• Climate-Smart Advisories: Offering real-time updates to manage unpredictable weather.
• Financial Inclusion: Enabling access to loans and building financial literacy.

Unlocking Potential: Impact of Lersha

By 2023, Lersha had expanded to six Ethiopian regions, including Amhara, Oromia, and Sidama, and initiated pilot projects in Kenya. The platform processed 12,000 mechanization requests and sent 2 million SMS advisories in local languages—an achievement that underscores its scalability and impact.

But Lersha’s success is best reflected in personal stories from Ethiopia:

• Meseret, a single mother in the Oromia region, doubled her wheat yield using Lersha’s mechanization services. “Lersha gave me the tools to succeed. Now, I harvest with confidence,” she says.
• Dereje, a young farmer in the Tigray region, transitioned from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture with Lersha’s financial tools. “This platform is not just technology; it’s empowerment,” he adds.

These stories highlight how innovative tools can unlock potential and turn barriers into opportunities.

Strategic Collaboration with AGRA

At the AGRA Ethiopia joint results review (JRR) Meeting in Adama, stakeholders—including the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)—discussed strategies to align investments with grassroots realities. A visit to the Dina Food Complex provided a firsthand look at how establishing linkages with processors plays a role in transforming agriculture. Processing 194 metric tons daily of wheat, maize, and teff, Dina offers a blueprint for integrating smallholder farmers into formal markets. “Dina exemplifies how anchor firms can drive agricultural transformation,” Abrhame observed.

AGRA has been instrumental in the success of Lersha, addressing critical challenges like pre and post-harvesting system development, technology introduction, and access to market link with farmers with producers anchor firms (off-takers). By integrating post-harvest technologies, the platform ensures farmers maximize the value of their produce while minimizing waste. AGRA’s collaboration extends to anchor firms like Dina, connecting them to financial resources and creating a more resilient ecosystem.

At the JRR meeting noted above, “System-level investments must be flexible to learn from grassroots realities and experiences, and landscape level investments in support of some of the activities of partners such as GAS should also be carefully packaged to inform deliberations at the systems level” said Dr. Yihenew Zewdie, AGRA Ethiopia Country Director. “This is about more than tools— dignity, resilience, and ensuring no farmer are neglacted.”

Scaling for a Transformational Future

Abraham elucidates, “Ethiopia is home to 16 million smallholder farming households, underscoring the immense demand for platforms like Lersha.” Despite its achievements, the platform faces challenges, such as limited mechanization providers and fluctuating market demands. However, having already reached 241,000 users, Lersha demonstrates the potential for creating synergy with the government, private sector, international research institutions, academia, and multinational organizations. These partnerships are crucial for scaling its impact, not only in Ethiopia but across other African nations.

Lersha has ambitious plans for the future. By 2027, the company aims to support 1 million active users, extend its reach, and incorporate AI-powered precision farming tools into its offerings. For Abrhame, this mission is deeply personal: “We are not just growing crops—we are cultivating hope, resilience, and prosperity for Ethiopia and beyond.

A Blueprint for Agricultural Transformation of Africa

The story of Abraham Endrias and Lersha exemplifies how innovation, resilience, and collaboration can transform agriculture. It demonstrates how multi-stakeholder partnerships—anchored by nationally owned frameworks and programmatic responses transform Ethiopia’s agricultural future. Dr Yihenew Zewdie concluded at the Adama meeting, “Together, we hold the unique responsibility to ensure a food-secure future for Ethiopia. Let us chart a path toward greater resilience and impact.”

For farmers like Meseret and Dereje, Lersha is more than just a platform—it is a pathway to transformation. Supporting leaders like transformative platforms like Lersha is more than an investment—it is a leap toward a resilient, inclusive, and food-secure Africa.

Read Also: Challenges to Private Sector Engagement in African Agriculture: Markets, Capacity, and Capital

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