Ethiopian-Born Former Google Engineer Ventures into Bitcoin Mining in EthiopiaQRB Labs ICT Solutions, a local company co-founded by Nemo Semret (PhD), a former Google engineer of Ethiopian origin, is in the process of establishing a Bitcoin mining site on the outskirts of Addis Ababa.
Awaiting clearance from the Information Network Security Agency (INSA) to import its equipment into Ethiopia, QRB has already initiated the construction of its mining site. Civil and electrical works are scheduled to be completed in early 2024.
QRB Labs, co-founded by four Ethiopian-origin entrepreneurs in 2021, specializes in providing data center services to international clients, with a focus on location-agnostic high-energy computations such as Bitcoin mining.
Its Bitcoin mining operation is organized within modular containers, facilitating easy scalability. Each module, housed in a shipping container, will be equipped with 100-300 high-power computers.
With power consumption expected to slowly grow to 150 megawatts in a few years, equivalent to that of a small city, QRB has entered into a special agreement with Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) for the supply of electricity. The initial mining site is strategically located near an EEP substation to meet its high voltage demand, and future sites will be selected in partnership with EEP based on available excess capacity.
The company states it is procuring surplus hydroelectric power, commonly referred to as “stranded” energy, to operate the modular mining centers.
According to QRB, Ethiopia possesses a significant amount of stranded electric power due to various factors. These include the natural lag in transmission and distribution capacity growth compared to generation capacity, the slow development of industrial demand, seasonal variations in hydroelectric power due to water flow, and variable consumer and industrial demand based on the time of day and day of the week.
“We often focus on the cost of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance (GERD) dam. However, the infrastructure required to transmit and distribute power to the whole country requires an investment for Ethiopia that may be equal to or greater than the cost of building GERD itself,” Nemo told Shega.
QRB anticipates becoming one of the largest customers of EEP. Unlike traditional customers, QRB has the flexibility to position its modular data centers near areas with excess electricity and to adjust demand by purchasing power during off-peak times.
Nemo explained, “Our data centers are modular, allowing us to easily relocate to new areas directed by EEP where stranded power is available. This relocation could occur as frequently as annually.”
Hiwot Eshetu, an official at EEP, confirmed ongoing discussions and an agreement with QRB Labs to Shega. However, he declined to provide further comments, directing the matter to the communications department.
QRB plans to invest approximately $40 million in hardware during the first four years of its operations. This investment will cover transformers, power distribution units, containers, server racks, and specialized computers with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
Simultaneously, the company forecasts a cumulative revenue of $20 million in foreign currency from its operations in Ethiopia within the initial four years.
“By providing data center hosting services to foreign customers, QRB will earn revenue internationally, while its operational costs, such as electric power and salaries, are incurred domestically. Thus, it will have a net-positive impact on Ethiopia’s foreign currency balance of payments,” reads QRB’s proposal written for the Ethiopian government and read by Shega.
QRB will be self-financing in the initial stages, with plans to attract investment after a few years of operation.
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