Digital Ethiopia 2030 Historic Opportunity to Leapfrog Trade Dev't Stages: Indian Industrialist

Addis Ababa, December 27, 2025 (ENA)— An Indian industry general manager has commended Ethiopia’s ambitious digital reform agenda, describing it as historic opportunity to leapfrog traditional development stages and build a transparent, citizen-centric digital economy.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Ethiopian Steel PLC General Manager Bhavesh Chandaria said Ethiopia can learn from global best practices and “take the elevator to the top floor” by adopting the latest technologies directly, he added.

Ethiopia’s biggest advantage lies in its status as a late entrant to digitalization.

According to him, the country, with over 70 million mobile users and 70 percent of the population under 30, has strong potential to advance its Digital Ethiopia 2030 vision.

In connection with this, the General Manager stressed the need for leveraging youth talent, digital arts, and sports analytics to showcase Ethiopian culture globally and enhance productivity.

Moreover, he highlighted opportunities in agriculture, land record digitization, and weather prediction.

While change is challenging, embracing digitalization can decentralize power, increase accountability, and build the nation Ethiopia deserves, he further stated.

Chandaria also pointed out that successful digital transformation requires a complete paradigm shift in governance, work culture and service delivery more than technology and infrastructure.

Finally, he noted that digitalization would empower citizens and that AI and digital tools reward those who use them effectively.

On financial and business reforms, Chandaria suggested that Ethiopia adopt innovations similar to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), linking digital ID, mobile numbers, and bank accounts to improve traceability and enable new digital platforms.