Dawit Lemma is chair of a resurgent African Business Aviation Association. He spoke with EVA about the business and general aviation challenges and opportunities across the vast continent
In an era where it is not unusual to see governments losing their way, it ought to be a simple matter to forgive an industry association for doing the same. Established in 2012 with a business aviation remit that extended to include all African general aviation in 2018, the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) nurtured a growing and influential voice.
The death in 2020 of Rady Fahmy, an AfBAA founding member and its first chief executive, left a void and, in the difficult period during and after the Covid pandemic, the association began to struggle. Latterly it seemed to have lost its way, but in 2025, AfBAA has celebrated a new beginning.
Appointed as Chair in May 2025, Dawit Lemma was excited to speak with EVA at that month’s European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva. Group Chair and CEO of Ethiopia’s Krimson Aviation, a Governing Board member at IBAC, African Regional Lead on NBAA’s International Operators Committee and a Women in Aviation International board member, Lemma has been involved with AfBAA since its formation and is uniquely qualified to guide the association into a new era.
While acknowledging past difficulties, Lemma says the AfBAA board has chosen not to dwell upon or revisit them, instead focussing its energies on the future. “Our members have reached out, checked in and understand the situation. Experience with IBAC, NBAA and Women in Aviation International has shown me how governance is the key to success. Get that right and everything else falls into place. So, governance is the first of the pillars we’ve identified that will support a resurgent AfBAA.”
The second pillar is membership. “We’re reaching out to members, asking what they want from their association. We can’t help everyone, but if they fill in our survey and a majority all say they want or need the same thing, then AfBAA can work on that.”
Communication is the third pillar. “Lots of people outside Africa thought AfBAA had disappeared, and we needed to tell the world we’re still here. So far we’ve only done a few articles, a handful of LinkedIn posts, but people are already approaching us to ask about joining or renewing their lapsed membership. Now is the time for PR and comms, getting the message out there and telling people we’re here, getting the AfBAA brand out there.”
The fourth pillar represents Africa’s diverse, dynamic general aviation community. That means embracing the possibilities of advanced air mobility, including UAVs – unmanned air vehicles, commonly referred to as drones. “The FAA defines business aviation as the use of an aircraft as a business tool to save time,” Lemma continues. “In the US, that aircraft might be a Citation or Gulfstream, but in Africa it is very likely to be a Cessna 172. General aviation is a key economic driver in Africa but it is underserved; the continent has more than 1,500 PT6 engines for example, but the only African MRO capable of overhauling them is in South Africa, which means for an operator in Cairo, Frankfurt and Dubai are closer.”
As AfBAA once again steps into the international business aviation spotlight, it is worth remembering the fundamental difference its board faces compared to other industry associations. The AfBAA board represents a continent. That is also true of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), but where EBAA works with multiple national associations, AfBAA does not. That means Lemma and the AfBAA board are potentially advocating for members from as many as 54 different countries, distributed across the vastly varying geography of an area almost three times greater than that of the US.
Lemma explains that the reality of the situation is even more complex. “In Ethiopia, we have 80 ethnic groups and 80 languages, but every African country has at least two ethnic groups. I want to form regional chapters to help overcome the complexity. It’s not possible to have 54 national associations, but we’ll come up with a chapter distribution that works for different regions. Travelling by commercial airline in West Africa is very difficult, while in East Africa it’s much easier, so there’s a great example of a regional difference.”
For every problem African business and general aviation operators face, Lemma reckons there are several solutions and the way to identify them is through the proposed regional chapters of like-minded people within a national organisation. But that’s only part of his mission. As AfBAA’s chair, he is also excited to represent the association, and the African continent and its general aviation community, on the international stage.