France, May 12 -- On Sunday morning, customers crowded around the counter at Hanit Bakery in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The shop is a client of French food group Lesaffre, which produces ingredients such as yeast. The company set up operations in Ethiopia in 2021.

"Lesaffre chose to open a factory in Ethiopia because it's the second most populous country in Africa," says its country director, Marine Durot. "It's also a country where we noticed people are eating more and more bread instead of injera [traditional sourdough flatbread]," she told RFI.

"For us, it was a key market where we wanted to establish a presence. We see strong prospects and solid growth potential."

In December last year, the company launched Lesaffre and Me ...