Natural resource
Surface salt crusts and saline groundwater are documented in the Habulay basin.
Investment opportunity
Noolays is developing a salt production and processing business in eastern Ethiopia. The resource is documented and the survey work is complete; the next stage is a pilot plant that confirms the operating and cost figures. The cooperative is seeking partners who can contribute capital, equipment, technical know-how or market access. This page sets out what is on offer, what is already in place, and the questions we expect to be asked.
On this page: Why Noolays Development model Partner types Partnership structures Investment phases Capital uses Risk management Investor process Ethiopia context Request information
Why invest here
A salt business you can help build
Most salt in the region is still produced by traditional methods. The resource, the market and the local institutions are in place; the missing element is industrial capability — equipment, capital and market access. That is the partnership we are seeking, and this page states clearly how far the project has reached.
Local ownership
The cooperative is member-owned; its committee lives and works in the project area.
Established technology
Solar evaporation, washing, refining, iodization and packing are proven, widely used processes.
Staged capital
Capital is released against verified milestones rather than all at once.
Existing demand
Salt is an everyday commodity in Ethiopia; product quality, price and transport are the commercial variables tested first.
Value addition
Washing, refining and packing raise the value of every tonne above raw salt.
Stages
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
Four stages — you decide after each one
- PILOT
- TECHNICAL VALIDATION
- COMMERCIAL DEMONSTRATION
- PROCESSING & VALUE ADDITION
- INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION
Prove it with a pilot
Build a small working plant first. It gives us real numbers on cost, output and quality — the basis for every later decision.
- Show the production method works
- Measure how fast the sun dries the water
- Measure the salt content of the water
- Settle how salt is collected
- Test simple washing and refining
- Produce samples for buyers
- Test samples in a laboratory
- Set basic quality checks
- Record real running costs
Turn results into numbers
This stage replaces assumptions with measured results, documented so that a partner can review the same figures we use.
- How much we produce
- How the resource behaves across a season
- How much salt we recover
- Product quality
- What processing is needed
- Energy and water needed
- Workers needed
- Transport and logistics
- Whether buyers accept the product
- Running costs
- Total money needed
Scale up to commercial
With proof in hand, we build a larger operation. The size is set by the pilot results, the market and the money available.
- More sun-drying ponds
- Better salt collection
- Storage for raw salt
- Washing and refining
- Crushing and grinding
- Sorting by grain size
- Iodization
- Drying
- Packing
- Delivery to customers
Industrial scale
The end goal is one integrated business: salt production, refining, edible and industrial products, livestock salt and delivery.
- Sun-drying ponds and water management
- Washing, refining, grinding and drying
- Iodization and packing for edible salt
- Industrial salt made to customer specification
- Livestock salt
- Storage, loading, transport and delivery
What we are looking for
💰 Partner type ⚙️ Partner type 🏭 Partner type 🚛 Partner type
Four kinds of partner — pick what fits you
Investors
- Building the pilot plant
- Production facilities
- Processing machines
- Buildings and power
- Day-to-day running money
- Later expansion
Equipment & technology suppliers
- Sun-drying ponds
- Salt collecting machines
- Salt washing
- Refining
- Drying, grinding and sorting
- Iodization and packing
- Laboratory and quality control
Industry & engineering partners
- Technical knowledge
- Plant design
- Engineering
- Management systems
- Production experience
- Quality systems
- Staff training
- Running the plant
Buyers & distributors
- Ethiopian markets
- Government and institutions
- Factories
- Livestock traders
- Regional markets
- Shops and distributors
- Export
You do not have to bring money to be useful. A supplier might install equipment and train our team; a distributor might commit to buying. Terms are agreed case by case, depending on the stage of the project and the law.
Ways to work with us
We will use whichever structure fits you
Different partners want different things, so none of these is fixed. Whatever we choose is written down only after legal, technical and financial checks, and after both sides have agreed it.
A share of the business
You put in money and hold an agreed share of the project.
A company together
We set up a company together with agreed money, roles and ownership, and both sides sit on its board.
Technology or equipment supply
You supply machines, technology or technical services on agreed commercial terms.
Equipment on credit
Machines are supplied now and paid for over an agreed period, subject to due diligence and applicable law.
Buy the salt in advance
A buyer agrees to take agreed volumes at agreed quality and terms once the pilot has proved output.
A combination
Money, equipment, management and market access together — what most serious partners choose when they want a say in how the project is run.
Investment principles
We test first, then we spend
Capital follows evidence: test, measure, then scale. That is why the first requirement is a pilot programme rather than a full plant, and why investment is released against verified milestones.
How value is created
- Natural salt resource
- Solar evaporation
- Raw salt
- Processing
- Refining & iodization
- Packaging
- Domestic & regional markets
What is different here
Noolays is not presenting a completed facility. It offers a structured route to build one: resource, capital, technology, management and markets developed step by step, supported by verifiable results.
Phases A–D
Phase A Phase B Phase C Phase D
Four phases: A to D
Getting ready: land, ponds, test holes
- Final check of the resource
- Preparing the site
- Building the first pilot ponds
- Opening the salt-water supply
- Sampling and laboratory testing
- Basic production equipment
- Environmental and work planning
Pilot production
- Sun-drying under control
- Salt forming
- Collecting salt
- Trying out washing and refining
- Testing the product
- Recording every cost
- Samples to buyers
Commercial scale
- Bigger sun-drying ponds
- Better salt collection
- Cleaning and refining equipment
- Storage
- Packing
- Delivery
Industrial expansion
- Higher output
- Modern refining
- Iodization
- Automated processing
- Packing lines
- Warehouses
- Transport
- Wider sales network
Capital
Where the money goes
The budget is split by stage, so you can see what each step costs. The exact figures come from engineering design, supplier quotations, pilot results and a financial model, and are given to qualified partners on request.
1 · Getting the pilot running
- Preparing the site
- Sun-drying ponds
- Pumps and test holes
- Pipes and channels
- Salt collecting equipment
- Laboratory tests
- Basic site facilities
- Vehicles
- Day-to-day running money
2 · Washing, refining, packing
- Washing equipment
- Refining equipment
- Drying equipment
- Grinding and sorting
- Iodization
- Packing
- Electrical works
- Quality-control laboratory
3 · Growing the business
- More sun-drying ponds
- More processing capacity
- Storage
- Vehicles and transport
- Power and water
- Automation
- Delivery network
Pilot budget figures go to qualified partners on request — we do not publish them here.
Risks
What could go wrong — and how we handle it
No resource project is risk-free. The principal risks and the way each is managed are set out below.
| What can go wrong | What we do about it |
|---|---|
| The method does not work | We prove it in a pilot first — and pay an independent engineer to check the result. |
| Less salt than expected | More sampling and testing before any large spending. |
| Machines do not suit our salt | We test equipment on site before buying at scale. |
| Buyers reject the product | Real samples go in front of real buyers from the pilot stage. |
| Costs run away | Money is released stage by stage, against agreed milestones. |
| Damage to land or water | Environmental study, monitoring and clear operating rules. |
| Day-to-day running fails | Training, maintenance, quality control and professional management. |
How it works
From first contact to partnership
You get in touch
Tell us who you are and what you are interested in.
We send information
We send the introductory project information and answer your first questions.
Confidentiality & checks
If you want more, we sign a confidentiality agreement and you start your own legal, technical and financial checks.
Site visit
Qualified partners can visit the site and see the resource and the plans for themselves.
Numbers on the table
Together we look at the pilot plan, the equipment, the costs and the market.
Choose the structure
We agree how we work together — share, company, equipment supply, credit or an advance purchase.
Build the pilot
The pilot goes ahead, with clear results expected at each step.
Decide on expansion
With the pilot results verified, we decide together whether to scale up.
Grow the business
If the checks, the money and the results line up, the project moves to larger production and processing.
The stages you can check
Project verification
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Pilot design
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Pilot construction
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Pilot production
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Laboratory & product validation
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Commercial feasibility
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Processing investment
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Commercial expansion
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Industrial development
A checkpoint on the way to production.
Local economic development
What this means for the local economy
Building a plant here should give work and business to the people around it, not just take a resource out and sell it.
- Direct employment
- Indirect employment
- Local procurement
- Transportation services
- Equipment maintenance
- Construction activities
- Packaging and logistics
- Technical skills development
- Small-business opportunities
- Cooperative-member participation
Ethiopia & the Somali Region
The Somali Regional State's own investment platform lists salt among the region's mineral resources and invites investment in mining and manufacturing. Invest in Somali (investinsomali.gov.et).
The Ethiopian Investment Commission also treats mining as a priority sector and points to opportunities in developing and processing minerals. Ethiopian Investment Commission.
If you want to check any of this yourself, we will give you the documents your own technical, legal and financial advisers need.
Frequently asked questions
Questions partners ask us first
Where is the project today?
Between survey and pilot. The survey report for the Habulay basin is complete and the pilot programme is being prepared. Commercial production has not yet started.
Are the resource figures independently certified?
No, and we are careful with the wording. The figures on this site are our own preliminary estimates from field work and satellite analysis — not a certified resource statement. The next steps are ground surveys, three to five shallow test holes and a pilot. You are welcome to bring your own independent expert at any stage.
How much money is needed, and for what?
It is split by stage: first the pilot (preparing the site, ponds, pumps, test holes, pipes, harvesting equipment, laboratory tests, basic facilities, vehicles and running money), then processing equipment, then expansion. The exact figures come from engineering design, supplier quotations, pilot results and a financial model. Pilot budget figures are provided to qualified partners on request.
Can we visit the site?
Yes. Qualified partners can visit, inspect the resource and meet the committee. Contact us in advance so we can arrange access, transport and a guide.
What would the partnership look like?
It is open to discussion and depends on you and the stage: a share of the business, a company together, technology or equipment supply, equipment on credit, an advance purchase agreement, or a mix. Whichever we choose, Ethiopian cooperative law and our members decide how the resource itself is held.
Who owns the land and the resource?
In Ethiopia land is public and administered by the state; use rights are granted to users and investors under federal and regional law. Land documents, site handover records and permits form part of the information provided to qualified partners.
Which documents can we read before committing?
Company documents, land and legal papers, survey and water studies, laboratory results, environmental information, market assessments, cost estimates and the development plan. The full list is in section 9 of the Project overview & information page. Sensitive papers are released after a confidentiality and due-diligence arrangement.
How do you handle confidentiality?
Every request is handled by a named person. If you need more than the public summary, we sign a confidentiality agreement before anything is released, and technical or financial data goes only to your organisation under that agreement.
Ask us the hard questions
Tell us what you would need to see before committing — data, engineering, legal structure or a site visit. We will set out clearly what is available and what is not.