Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin, a visionary Ethiopian-Swiss economist, has transformed the agricultural landscape in Africa, positively impacting the lives of over 15 million small farmers.
As the founder of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), Gabre-Madhin built a marketplace that now trades over $1.2 billion worth of commodities annually, providing a lifeline to farmers across the continent.
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1964, Gabre-Madhin spent her formative years in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. She pursued her academic journey with degrees in economics from Cornell and Michigan State University.
In 1999, her PhD research at Stanford University on Ethiopian grain markets earned her an award from the American Agricultural Economic Association, setting the foundation for her groundbreaking work in agricultural policy.
Gabre-Madhin’s journey into agricultural reform began in the early 2000s when she worked as a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Her research identified critical gaps in African agriculture, where droughts and crop shortages in some regions contrasted with surpluses and waste in others.
Determined to address this imbalance, she returned to Ethiopia in 2004 to lead a program aimed at improving agricultural policies.
In 2006, Gabre-Madhin helped establish the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, and by 2008, she became its CEO. The ECX revolutionized the way farmers traded their goods, creating a fair and transparent market system.
Within just three years, the exchange reached a trading volume of over $1.2 billion annually, ensuring that farmers were no longer at the mercy of unpredictable markets.
Gabre-Madhin’s story and the success of ECX were captured in the 2009 documentary The Market Maker, highlighting her role as a key figure in African agricultural reform.
Today, Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin’s work through ECX serves as a model of agricultural innovation, driving economic growth and providing sustainable livelihoods for millions of farmers across Africa.
