Gov’t of Ethiopia Invests on Large Infrastructure Projects to Attract Foreign Companies

Addis Ababa June 17/2022/ENA/ The government of Ethiopia has heavily invested in large infrastructure projects in order for foreign investors to get engaged on priority sectors including agriculture, textile and apparel, Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Berhanu Tsegaye disclosed.

The Ethiopian Embassy in Djibouti has organized a two-day briefing and B2B Sessions on livestock, meat processing, agriculture, agro-processing, logistics, mining and manufacturing sectors as Djibouti-based foreign companies delve for joint venture and investment opportunities in Ethiopia.

During the sessions, Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Berhanu Tsegaye, noted that as part of Home-Grown Economic Model, his government has worked closely with international stakeholders to modernize and streamline its investment regulations, which opens the door for sectors that were previously reserved only for the government under the previous investment regime.

The Ambassador added, in order for foreign investors to get engaged on priority sectors such as agriculture, textile and apparel, pharmaceuticals, agro-processing, ICT, power, mining, and tourism, the Government has heavily invested on large infrastructure projects such as power generation, industrial parks, water and irrigation schemes, roads and railways, airports and dry ports, telecommunication and internet networks.

In the second session, owner of BanderKheir Agricultural Production Company, Ali Sheikh, briefed participants on the possibilities for a Joint Venture on the 5300 Hectare Farm located in Gode, Somali Region of Ethiopia.

Interested investors will soon study details of the feasibility study and the modalities on how they can pursue the joint venture with the agricultural company.

The country has 74.3 million hectares of arable land, with over 3 million hectares made available for investment thus far, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) latest world investment report, Ethiopia ranked Africa’s best the top 5 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destinations in 2021 with 4.3 billion US dollars.

This represents +79 percent increases from 2020 and corresponds to almost half of all FDIs to East Africa, the report said.

Ethiopia is adopting business-friendly approaches and easing bureaucratic processes tend to drive an increase in Foreign Direct Investments, it was learned.