Hilina food testing laboratory To establish the first commercial accredited modern food testing laboratory in Ethiopia, capable of undertaking a wide variety of microbiological, chemical and physical tests on food products. The economy of Ethiopia and the livelihood of 85% of its population depend on agriculture. This includes the production of economically important commodities like coffee, cereals, oilseeds, pulses, honey and livestock and its products. The increasing global demand for food products in combination with local value addition of food commodities, provide good opportunities for trade, economic growth and higher standards of living of the Ethiopian people. However, a prerequisite for international trade of food products is the compliance with international quality and safety regulations. The lack of an accredited laboratory in Ethiopia is one of the major bottlenecks in ascertaining the quality and safety of food commodities.The local partner in this project, Hilina Enriched Foods Processing Centre Plc encountered this lack on a daily basis, as it produces ready to use therapeutic food for severely malnourished children for organizations like UNICEF and World Food Programme. Its clients needed to send samples for testing to Kenya or Europe. Recognised, this need for Ethiopia and the business opportunity, Hilina Food with their French partner Nutriset S.A.S. started an accredited food testing laboratory on the brink of Addis Ababa.Both, applicant Nutriset as Hilina Food have their own in-house laboratory. In addition, the Dutch accredited food testing lab Nutrilab trained them how to set up and run a commercial food testing laboratory. The main service of the joint venture is the testing of food samples, ensuring compliance to mandatory and regulatory standards, preventing the occurrence of product recalls, eliminate food poisoning, minimize rejects by enhancing product quality and shelf-life and reduce production costs. The lab will contributes significantly to the establishment of a stable food production and processing sector in Ethiopia.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Both partners attach a lot of importance to corporate social responsibility, as reflected in their mission statements and their CSR policies. The lab complies with the ILO labour rights, stimulates the employees to organize themselves in a workers council, ensures that the lab and its suppliers are free of child or forced labour, and ensures non-discrimination and absence of all kinds of harassment. It has a positive gender policy. Special attention is given to environmental protection by taking measures to reduce the use of energy, use clean energy where possible and prevent environmental damage. A health and safety plan is developed. The HRM policy includes employee benefits as described in the section on working conditions below. Policies are set up and compliance is enforced to prevent corruption. The CSR policy of the lab is established in line with OECD guidelines and is published on its website, easily accessible to both employees as customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsAt the end of the project 30 people were employed by the food laboratory; 20 medium- and high-level and 10 basic-level employees. Two years after PSI project completion this will increase to 37 people, of which 12 on basic-level. The growth will be mainly at the level of microbiological and chemical analysts. The lab offers good wages to their employees, which are 10% to 20% above similar positions in commercial settings. The salaries for basic-level employees are nearly 100% above minimum wages in Ethiopia.In addition, employees receive fringe benefits like profit sharing, financial holiday benefits, medical insurance, sick leave, free transport, subsidized meals, extra vacation days, first aid treatment, training opportunities, protective clothing, good and modern working environment.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeAs the establishment of a commercial, accredited food testing laboratory is new for Ethiopia, all knowledge related to management and operation of such a lab according to international standards is new for the country.This includes the development and maintenance of a quality management system in line with ISO 17025 requirements and the use of a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). Understanding these international guidelines will enable the employees to pass on this knowledge to their colleagues of the companies requiring the tests, uplifting the knowledge level at sectoral level on food safety and quality, environmental issues and hazards. Hilina lab has opened its doors to trainees and university graduates to increase knowledge in lab and health awareness.•	Chain effectsThe project had a positive effect on employment and incomes across the food and food processing chain. By providing internationally accredited testing services at prices that are below the current testing services commissioned abroad and within shorter turnaround times, the new joint venture contributes to the development of local food cooperatives (e.g. coffee and honey cooperatives) and food processors. Since farmers are mostly involved with the food producing sector in Ethiopia, the project also has a positive effect on the income of these groups. The lack of acceptance of laboratory test and calibration data and certification of measurement results across national borders has been identified as a significant non-tariff barrier to trade. Exporting without an accreditation infrastructure increases the likelihood for additional costs that arise from rejection of consignments of exported products, duplicative testing and time delays. Therefore, producers/processors as customers to accredited laboratory tests enjoy greater market access for their products in both domestic and international markets and incur savings in terms of time and money due to the reduction or elimination for retesting of products abroad. The increased market potential creates more jobs in the food producing and processing sector. The increased export potential potentially creates economic activity in different export industries, such as packaging, storage and transport sectors with additional spin-off in the construction sector.The joint venture itself procures services such as transport, chemical waste disposal, advertisements, maintenance and repair from local companies.•	EnvironmentSince the lab uses hazardous chemicals and has to dispose of used chemicals and potential contaminated food samples, it has carried out an environmental impact assessment. This was also a requirement of the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority. The employees were trained in how to deal with hazardous substances and proper hazardous waste management was an integral part of the operational procedures of the lab and of the accreditation criteria. Hilina Food already had its own incinerator for contaminated food samples. For the disposal of hazardous waste a certified waste disposal service provider has been used. The lab is designed in such a way to protect the environment from avoidable harm. This includes energy efficient design, increased instrument sensitivity, efficient sampling and minimal solvent use. At the same time, these measures are beneficial in terms of safety, efficiency, reduced costs and smaller space requirements.•	Position of womenThe impact on the position of women has been positive. At least 50% of the staff is female, salaries are equal for men and women and competency based. The company encourages women to apply for high-level positions. To establish the first commercial accredited modern food testing laboratory in Ethiopia, capable of undertaking a wide variety of microbiological, chemical and physical tests on food products.