Ethiopia’s People-Centered Urban Transformation Offers Lessons for African Cities: CEO

Addis Ababa, October 13, 2026 (ENA) — Ethiopia’s people-centered urban transformation is improving living conditions, creating business opportunities and offering valuable lessons for cities across Africa, Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, CEO of the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa, has said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Guimba-Saidou, who is also an adviser to the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AMALI) Program, expressed surprise at the scale of Ethiopia’s urban transformation.

“I really did not expect to see a fraction of what I’ve seen so far,” he said.

Guimba-Saidou said the most impressive aspect of Ethiopia’s urban development was its focus on people and improving their living conditions.

“The first thing that caught my attention is that all this transformation is people-centric. It is really done to improve the living conditions of the citizens,” he said.

He stressed that infrastructure development must directly benefit citizens through improved living conditions, access to services and economic opportunities.

Highlighting a site he visited that had previously been a slum, Guimba-Saidou said the redevelopment had enabled some residents to move into social housing, while shops built in the area were rented to people originally from the community, allowing them to benefit economically from the transformation.

He described the approach as comprehensive and people-centered, noting that it combines improved infrastructure with opportunities for local residents to participate in and benefit from development.

Guimba-Saidou also emphasized the importance of making cities accessible to people across different income groups, saying urban planning should allow even low-income residents to live in cities and benefit from the services and opportunities they offer.

He said residents’ enthusiasm for newly completed projects and their knowledge of future development plans showed that people were connected to the transformation and could see how their cities were progressing.

Calling on African city leaders to visit Ethiopia and establish partnerships to exchange experiences, Guimba-Saidou said cities across the continent could learn from the country’s urban planning and development efforts, including both its achievements and its challenges.

“They need to come and see, because if you tell them, they won’t believe it. So they need to come and see,” he said, urging more African city leaders to observe Ethiopia’s urban transformation firsthand.

He particularly highlighted green urban spaces, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and environmentally friendly planning as important lessons for other African cities.

Guimba-Saidou also stressed that green infrastructure can encourage people to protect nature, adding that communities need the skills and capacity to maintain green spaces and preserve the environment.

He said direct visits and partnerships could help African cities identify approaches from Ethiopia’s experience that could be adapted to their own urban development needs.