Bridging bold ambition and the vast opportunities of East Africa.
At White Space Strategies, we connect your growth goals with the untapped potential of Ethiopia and East Africa — powered by deep market insight, intelligent strategy, and reliable partnerships.
Integrity
Honest, transparent guidance you can trust.
Depth
Rigorous, on-the-ground insight that goes far beyond reports.
Partnership
We work as an extension of your team.
Excellence
Uncompromising quality in every deliverable.
Nikodimos Takele Geberetsadik
Founder
"We are driven by a clear purpose: to make it simple, strategic, and highly profitable for international businesses to enter and grow in the untapped white spaces of Ethiopia and East Africa."
Nikodimos is a seasoned, award-winning business strategist and operator with over 15 years of experience leading the entry and growth of global brands across African markets. He is the founder of White Space Strategies, a strategy and execution firm specialized in Ethiopia and the broader East African region.
Previously, he worked with Procter & Gamble (P&G), where he is largely credited for designing the company's go-to-market model and profitably growing brands like Gillette and Ariel across East Africa. At Vinmar International — a US-based firm — he built local distributor partnerships and grew export pipelines into the region. He has also advised and trained regional and local businesses in sales strategy, marketing, and business leadership.
He holds an M.A. in Leadership and Organization from Malmö University in Sweden and a B.A. in Economics from Addis Ababa University. He is a US Mandela Washington Fellowship alumnus for leadership in business.
The people behind the strategy.
Etsub Alemayehu
Strategy Lead
Commercial maestro with over 17 years of experience spearheading go-to-market, brand building, business development, and profit centre operations across the multi-discipline food/FMCG, fintech, and service industries.
Lealem Terefe
Business Development Lead — Fintech
Seasoned digital lending professional specializing in uncollateralized MSME finance and credit portfolio management. Brings end-to-end command of the lending value chain: segment strategy, credit product design, pricing, and rollout governance, with a record of taking digital credit solutions from concept to scale through bank and fintech partnerships. Manages portfolios across their full life cycle — shaping risk appetite, monitoring performance and early-warning signals, and optimizing limits, pricing, and renewals — while balancing growth, portfolio quality, and capital efficiency. Pairs commercial leadership with data-driven judgment to expand access to finance for underserved businesses while delivering sustainable, profitable lending growth.
Tadiwos Berhanu
Business Development Lead — Steel and Construction Materials
Business development and commercial strategy lead with over 16 years of experience across Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa markets. Specialized in international trade, channel development, B2B sales management, strategic marketing, and business growth execution within construction materials, steel manufacturing, and global commodity trading sectors. Experienced in building and managing executive-level partnerships and relationships, developing market-entry and expansion strategies, and driving sustainable business growth in complex and emerging markets. Recognized for strong commercial acumen, strategic thinking, and a practical understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with doing business in rapidly evolving economies.
Continental Expertise
We work with experts across East Africa, powered by the US Mandela Washington Fellowship network.
Focus on Execution
Proven execution specialists with deep experience across industries and ready-made regional partnerships.
Founder-Led
Led by our founder Nikodimos, with extensive experience and partnerships across East Africa.