Matig Kevorkoff
Information is available in Haik Patapan's Arti Etovpia ev Hay kaghoute, published in Venice in 1930.
Hrant Minassian was brother-in-law of Matig Kevorkoff. He had been associated to him for his business for almost 50 years.
In 1930, Patapan's book cited the "Maison Minassian", together with "Maison Kevorkoff", among the most prominent Armenian trade-houses in Ethiopia. The "Maison Minassian" had its central office in Dire Dawa, but held also shops in Harar and Addis Ababa.
As a trader Matig Kevorkoff was, as far as I (Boris Adjemian) know, the main one in Armenian Community and a very famous one in Ethiopia. Born in Iskiudar (near Constantinople) in 1867, he was well educated in the Armenian college Hagop Kurken from Constantinople. Arrived in Djibouti in 1896, after a short stay in Egypt, he created his trade company. The company grew and expanded towards Ethiopia (Dire Dawa, Harar and, of course, Addis Ababa). Kevorkoff imported cotton, silk, beverages, olive oil, soap, perfumes, iron and building materials. But Matig Kevorkoff was especially renowned for his monopoly over tobacco trade in the whole Ethiopia. This monopoly was the base of his fortune. He also became one of the first Administrators of the new Bank of Ethiopia. He was decorated many time by the Ethiopian government and was elected in 1927 president of the Armenian Community in Ethiopia.
It is important to say that Matig Kevorkoff was a French citizen (probably naturalised in Djibouti). He was famous at the French Legacy in Ethiopia. In 1920, Avedis Aharonian, in accordance with French authorities, asked Kevorkoff to be the "Représentant diplomatique de la République arménienne" in Ethiopia (like an acting ambassador of the Republic of Armenia born after First World War). The year before, in 1919, he had given 1,000 English pounds, together with other Ethio-Armenians in order to help the young Armenian Republic to buy an airplane.
Interview with Matig's great-niece
Matig Kevorkoff was originally a Rusahay. Doesn't know how they ended up in Egypt. He had a successful business there.
During genocide, Hrant Minassian escaped prison from Constantinople for his political activities (they were organizing resistance), his parents put him on the first ship out of Turkey, it went to Egypt. Then he started looking for a job and got a job with Matig - applied and got it. Worked for them for a while and Matig saw promise in him. Asked him would you like to work in Djibuti. They opened the business there - Hrant stayed, and business boomed. Hrant married Matig's sister Hratchouhie in Djibouti in 1900. This time they went together to Ethiopia and opened business there. Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa. In Harar or Alemaya they had olive oil company. In Dire Dawa they had a soap company. Perhaps another oil, not sure. They had a coffee bean processing plant. They bought properties. One of them (Matig or Hrant) had the cigarette monopoly. When the Italians came they took the monopoly and businesses. The brand new factory equipment from England was taken. Ethiopian govt kept this all after the Italians were gone. Matig moved to France with his daughter (born in mid-1930s) and all touch was lost.
Excerpt from AGBU Magazine 1994
“The introduction of Armenian politics was a divisive factor for this community, starting with the arrival of Matig Kevorkoff, a Djibouti-based Armenian merchant from Constantinople who was Armenia’s first ambassador to Addis Ababa in 1920. The inter-factional squabbles led to Kevorkoff’s abrupt resignation and return to Djibouti with his wife,” Terzian said.
Unshaken by what amounted to a diplomatic debacle, Kevorkoff talked the community into merging the three Armenian schools under one roof — thus forming the National Armenian Kevorkoff School which is still serving Addis Ababa Armenians today.
https://agbu.org/cairo-birth-agbu/journey-back-time-look-history-armenians-ethiopia
Excerpt from Armenian Weekly
Matig Kevorkoff, who in 1923 built a modern school to unite the two schools that had previously divided the community. Kevorkoff was a French citizen who grew up in Egypt and moved to Djibouti at the age of 29 to pursue a highly successful career as a merchant of tobacco and other commodities. During the fascist occupation of Ethiopia (1936-41), because of his French nationality, all of his assets were confiscated by the Italians as “enemy property.” Kevorkoff died in penury in Marseille in the early 1950’s.
https://armenianweekly.com/2015/05/06/remembering-the-armenians-of-ethiopia/