Stergios Papatakis left Epirus and settled in Djibouti in 1910 where he worked for the railway project. Then he moved to Addis Ababa and dealt with dairy products trade. In 1926 he operated a flour mill, a distillery factory and a hotel. In 1928 he got married to Wolete Amanuel. During the Italian invasion in Ethiopia in 1935, Wolete took part in the resistance and was in charge of a military group.
