Yonas Alemu was born in Ethiopia and, like many of his compatriots, his childhood and upbringing were intertwined with farming teff (also known as lovegrass). After completing his education in Europe and becoming a certified Financial Risk Manager, he spent 17 years working in some of the world’s top investment banks. Despite all the changes in his life, he found himself spending an increasing amount of time sitting on the trading floor, daydreaming about the small village and the farmers he had left behind so many years ago.

In 2014, he noticed that some health food stores around the City of London, where he worked, had teff on their shelves. What’s more, he discovered that it all came not from its origin Ethiopia, but from the US, where the seed is commercially cultivated. From the day he found this out, it became impossible for him to reconnect and focus on his busy day job.

He was no longer the banker, but a man preoccupied with what he had left behind so many years ago. It was time to tell the story of the ancient journey of teff and the Ethiopian farmers who had toiled for millennia to bring this versatile grain to the world. With that, he established Lovegrass Ethiopia in 2016.