Ethiopia Emerging as Model for Africa’s Economic Transformation: Experts

Addis Ababa, March 21, 2026 (ENA) —Ethiopia’s rapid economic transformation and large-scale infrastructure development are positioning the country as a model for the rest of the continent, African policy and finance experts told ENA.

Executive Chairman of the network Africa Prosperity, Gaby Asare Otchere-Darko, said Ethiopia has demonstrated remarkable progress over the past decade, particularly in industrialization and infrastructure expansion.

The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) is a non-profit organization, founded with the objective of advancing the vision of “The Africa We Want” as outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063, with particular focus on promoting Africa’s prosperity and economic integration.

In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian News Agency, the Executive Chairman said Ethiopia is increasingly emerging as a benchmark for economic transformation across the continent.

“We are seeing economic transformation in Ethiopia, and it’s actually a model for the rest of the continent,” he noted.

Otchere-Darko cited the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as a flagship example of national mobilization and strategic ambition, underscoring Ethiopia’s ability to finance and execute large-scale projects.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is Africa’s largest hydroelectric power project designed to generate more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity, significantly boosting Ethiopia’s power supply and supporting its ambition to become a regional energy hub.

According to the Executive Chairman, such major infrastructure initiatives demonstrate the country’s strong potential to play a leading role in advancing Africa’s economic integration.

Otchere-Darko further emphasized that Ethiopia is well-positioned to assume greater continental leadership, calling for continued liberalization in key sectors such as telecommunications, banking, and financial technology.

Ethiopia has been liberalizing key sectors since 2018, opening telecom beyond Ethio telecom, planning foreign entry into banking, and expanding fintech under the National Bank of Ethiopia to attract investment and modernize the economy.

For his part, African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) Chief Executive Officer, Manuel Moses, stressed the importance of domestic resource mobilization in driving Africa’s development agenda.

“Africa’s development needs to be financed first by us Africans, and then we can invite others to come and join us,” he said.

The CEO pointed out the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a compelling example of how African countries can successfully mobilize internal resources to fund transformative projects.

“That is a perfect example of how Africans can organize themselves and finance themselves because the resources are there,” Moses noted.

The African policy and finance leaders come as Ethiopia continues to implement wide-ranging economic reforms and invest in strategic infrastructure, reinforcing its role as a key player in Africa’s development and integration efforts.