Sebeta

Sebeta is a town on the outskirts of Addis Ababa in Oromia, traditionally known as a centre for growing khat (chat), the mild stimulant leaf widely chewed in the region. Over recent decades it has transformed into one of Ethiopia's major industrial hubs, now hosting hundreds of manufacturing firms — breweries, steel and cement plants, water-bottling companies, leather tanneries, and agro-industrial operations — drawn in part by its proximity to Addis Ababa and a station on the Ethiopia–Djibouti railway that has made the area attractive for export-oriented business. The tannery and leather-goods sector is especially notable; family-run operations such as HAFDE, founded in 1999, have grown into significant employers. Sebeta today functions primarily as an industrial satellite of the capital rather than a tourist destination.