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Ethiopia
- Fresh financing will bolster Ethiopia’s progress in achieving wheat self-sufficiency.
- Data shows Ethiopia’s wheat productivity has struggled to match the demands of a rising population, urbanization, and economic expansion over the past decade.
- Statistics show that Ethiopia’s annual wheat imports average roughly $600 million.
Ethiopia, the second-largest wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa, has received a significant boost from the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the form of an $84.3 million grant aimed at propelling the nation’s wheat production to new heights.
The grant, a collaborative effort between the AfDB, the Government of the Netherlands, agribusiness firm OCP Africa, and the Global Center on Adaptation, holds the promise of not only enhancing wheat production but also bolstering exports.
CREW initiative in Ethiopia’s wheat production
As wheat gains prominence as a major crop cultivated across the vast expanse of African plains, Ethiopia strategically positions itself as a pivotal player in the sub-sector.…
- Safaricom targets a customer base of at least 10 million across 25 cities in the next year.
- Since Safaricom Ethiopia switched on its mobile telecommunications network, it has grown coverage from an initial 11 to 22 cities.
- Safaricom Ethiopia is building a wholly-owned mobile network and also has infrastructure sharing deal with state-owned Ethio Telecom.
Safaricom is now targeting a customer base of at least 10 million in Ethiopia in the next one year. The move is tailored to shake up the country’s telecommunication industry. Latest developments follows huge investments in the country, with cash transfer service M-PESA now on the table.
Since Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia switched on its mobile telecommunications network and services in Addis Ababa in October last year, major inroads have been made in the second-most populous country in Africa.
It has grown coverage from an initial 11 cities when it launched to 22. The telco with …
Africa has been hailed as the next frontier in the provision of global oil and natural gas resources, especially now in the wake of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
This crisis has not only altered the global energy landscape, but also instigated an inflation in gas prices, given the former’s position in the hierarchy of major global producers. As sanctions continue to soar, Europe has embarked on a quest to find contingency energy supplies, as it seeks to minimize its dependency on Russia; which has already cut off gas supplies to countries like Finland, Poland and Bulgaria, over energy payment disputes.
Consequently, Africa’s gas resources have gained a newly found prominence, pertinently by the European Union (EU); owing to the continent’s rich endowment of oil and deep gas reserves. The mounting global demand for gas, has been pushing international energy companies to reconsider African projects. The numerous ongoing and upcoming oil …
The U.S. Department of State gathered a group of private sector representatives to explore investment and collaborative business opportunities in Ethiopia, during the Global Entrepreneurship Week.
A week was spent by the Partnership Opportunity Delegation (POD) engaging with government leaders, private sector entities and Ethiopian entrepreneurs to understand the challenges and opportunities facing Ethiopian innovators and share expertise on how the country can better provide an enabling environment for tech and startups. The delegation included more than 15 companies representing Japan, United States and Sweden.
Also Read: Awash Bank, USAID to help small Agribusinesses in Ethiopia
The Office of Global Partnerships led the POD in exploring opportunities in various sectors of the Ethiopian economy such as digital connectivity, Fintech, creative industry and startups. From these first-hand engagements, several delegates committed to supporting Ethiopia’s economy in tangible ways through workforce development, social entrepreneurship, startup investment, exploring opportunities for telecom privatization …
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Awash Bank announced a new partnership of $6.4 million to finance microfinance institutions and small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses in Ethiopia.
Under a USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) agreement, the program will expand commercial bank lending into underserved areas in Ethiopia. It will also provide private finance needed to help farmers and businesses increase production, as well as support Ethiopia’s efforts to modernize the agricultural sector.
Through private capital sources, local microfinance institutions are able to expand lending to individuals and small businesses, mostly smallholder farmers and Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) clients. This partnership will also support Awash Bank’s direct lending to SMEs in the agriculture sector, where access to credit remains low despite contributing 34 per cent of Ethiopia’s GDP and employing about 70 per cent of the total labour workforce.
Also Read: Mastercard foundation to help create 10
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The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma witnessed the signing of three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the Ethiopian Government and Alibaba establishing an eWTP Hub in Ethiopia.
The eWTP (electronic world trade platform) Hub is intended to enable cross-border trade, provide smart logistics and fulfillment services, assist Ethiopian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach China and other markets, and provide talent training.
The event was also witnessed by Alibaba Group Director and Ant Financial Services Group Chairman and CEO Eric Jing. Ethiopia aims to build a dynamic and growing digital economy that contributes significantly to overall economic growth in the country.
eWTP is an Alibaba-led multi-stakeholder global initiative promoting public-private dialogue in order to support more inclusive global trade which uses technology and policy innovation to provide greater opportunities for SMEs, women and youth.
Ethiopia is the second country in Africa to establish …
Ethiopia’s most vulnerable families are set to benefit from a new US$451 million project to increase their resilience to climate shocks in the country’s poorest regions.
A financing agreement for the Lowlands Livelihood Resilience Project was signed today by Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Zenebu Tadesse Woldetsadik, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome.
The funding includes a $90 million loan from IFAD and $350 million in co-financing from the International Development Association (80 per cent loan and 20 per cent grant) and $11million from the beneficiaries themselves.
The project, primarily designed to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2 (eradicating poverty and hunger) will install small-scale irrigation technology to reduce dependence on erratic rains. It will also help smallholder farmers to invest in research systems for faster …
Mastercard Foundation plans to help Ethiopia government create over 10 million jobs for the young generation over the coming ten years.
This follows the Mastercard Foundation launch of Young Africa Works in Ethiopia a $300 million initiative which aims at creating employment opportunities for the youth in partnership with Ethiopia’s Jobs Creation Commission (JCC).
The Young Africa Works in Ethiopia is aligned with the Ethiopian government’s plan to create new jobs to spur economic growth. The initiative was designed in partnership with the government, the private sector, academic institutions and young people.
Mastercard Foundation will work with JCC to create programs to speed up growth in the tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and ICT sectors. The programs will support small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs in achieving greater productivity and expand income-generating opportunities.
“Ethiopia’s prosperity will be achieved when we individually achieve our full potential first. Creating jobs for all, particularly, youth …
A high-level meeting of policymakers, regulators and industry experts in the field of pharmaceuticals and trade has discussed a bold path towards affordable pharmaceuticals through leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area. The Continent is home to 11% of the world’s population yet it carries 25% of the world’s burden of disease.
If implemented, pooling procurement of essential drugs and products and expanding local pharmaceutical production on the continent is seen as a critical pathway to the prosperity of African citizens, thereby achieving universal healthcare in Africa.
Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe told the meeting that 50 % of all children who die before the age of 5 in the world are in Africa. “We cannot build a prosperous Africa if we have such a high mortality rate. The pharma initiative seeks to reduce costs and increase healthcare access.”
“The tragedy is that these diseases …
