According to the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT), Ethiopia has made significant progress in expanding digitalization and developing skilled human resources in the digital sector during the past nine months of this budget year. For MInT, the development of digital technology is crucial in boosting the nation’s digital economy.
During the overall macroeconomic performance review over the past nine months of this budget year, the ministry announced that remarkable achievements were registered in the main tasks, such as expanding digitalization, fostering innovation and creating a conducive environment for digital and technology startups, as well as in applying appropriate policy and strategy reforms to facilitate digital technology, innovation, and startup businesses in the sector.
Last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) announced the beginning of a nine-month government work performance review for the 2024/25 fiscal year budget, carried out across various sectors. The review was conducted in the presence of all ministers at his office. As we begin the review of the nine-month performance evaluation of the work carried out during this budget year so far, “we will engage in meaningful discussions that will inform and shape our work plans for the upcoming three months,” the premier stated on his social media post as he publicized the beginning of the performance review.
According to the premier, the government has achieved considerable success during the past nine months of this budget year across all sectors, adding “this should serve as motivation, not complacency- to strive even harder and reach greater heights,” he added.
During this third-quarter performance review of government sectors, Minister of Innovation and Technology (MInT), Belete Molla (PhD), stated that Ethiopia has been exerting maximum efforts to realize digital transformation during the past nine months of this budget year. For Belete, the implementation of the national comprehensive macroeconomic reform policy, implemented in July 2024, was designed to enhance digital infrastructure, promote local innovations, stimulate local startups and entrepreneurs in the innovation, technology, and digital sectors, and create more employment opportunities for the youth generation during the budget year.
While clarifying the ministry’s activities during the nine months of this budget year, especially in the digital and innovation sectors, Belete stated that the key tasks of the ministry include advancing digital operations, developing the expansion of infrastructure for the development of technology and digitalization, and building a modern and innovation-driven ecosystem in Ethiopia to make the technology and digital transformation. Belete stated that “Strategic partnerships with private companies, government entities, and international organizations have been instrumental in driving these initiatives forward,” adding that through these collaborations, a lot of achievements have been registered during the fiscal year.
According to the minister, while a lot of successes have been achieved across all sectors in technology, innovation, and digital development, a major milestone that has been registered during the fiscal year so far was the widespread adoption of digital payment platforms such as CBE Birr and TeleBirr. During the nine months of the budget year, Belete stated that nearly 800 billion birr was transacted digitally within nine months. As to him, the shift in the development of digital transactions has helped the nation to reduce currency printing costs and strengthen Ethiopia’s digital economy.
For the minister, the two telecom operating companies, the current telecom service providers in Ethiopia, Ethio Telecom and Safaricom, have played a crucial role in expanding digital infrastructure as well as digital connectivity, which contributed significantly to increasing mobile usage and internet penetration across the country. The telecommunication providers’ investment in expanding their services to reach more customers is bringing fruit in the development of digital connectivity as well as digital transactions. For him, the development of digital connectivity, coupled with the government’s extensive investment in digital infrastructural development, is accelerating the nation’s digital transformation journey.
Belete also underlines the fast advancement of digital governance, thanks to the development of the nation’s Digital ID program. The nation’s Fayda Project, which was launched a few years ago to expand the national Digital ID, has helped the country to register over 14 million citizens so far. According to Belete, the national ID is accelerating digital services and digital governance in Ethiopia.
According to the minister, in addition to the development and expansion of digital connectivity through extensive infrastructural investment, Ethiopia focuses on human resource development in the digital sector. Through the 5 million Ethio-Coders initiative, a national initiative launched in July 2024 to provide coding and other digital training for five million Ethiopians within three years, Ethiopia has been able to provide the training for over 688,000 Ethiopians since the launch of the initiative, launched on the 23rd of July. According to him, of the total citizens taking the coding training, more than 270,000 of them have already received international certifications by completing the training, enhancing their competitiveness in the global digital sector.
These extensive investment efforts, both in infrastructural development and human resource development through training, are playing crucial role in promoting entrepreneurship, startup growth, as well as creating new opportunities for the youth generation in the digital sector. The minister further reiterated that his institution is committed to formulating and executing policies that will contribute to ensuring the technological ecosystem that could accelerate the nation’s transition into a robust and inclusive digital economy.
For the minister, the development of digitalization is significantly boosting and accelerating the nation’s economic growth. Elaborating on the achievements and success registered in the digital transformation through the ongoing digital reform measures, Belete stated that it helped the nation in reducing the need for costly physical currency printing, mentioning the over 800 billion birr transacted within nine months digitally. Expansion of digitalization with the nation’s ambitious digital transformation strategy, extensive investment in infrastructural development, the establishment of state-of-the-art systems to institutionalize the transformation, and promotion of technological entrepreneurship and innovation are the core driving factors in the sector, he emphasized.
Acknowledging and appreciating the Telecom operators’ success in infrastructure development and connectivity, Belete said that the increased in internet penetration and mobile phone usage are playing a crucial role in boosting the nation’s digital transformation journey, which is crucial to realize digital economy. For him, Ethiopia is achieving meaningful development in the digital sector within a short time, with an ambition of making the digital sector a driver of economic development.
According to Belete, the government gives due focus to promoting technology startups and entrepreneurship through various national initiatives and technological exchange programs. To further enhance the efforts in the sector, MInT is working on adopting new policies and strategies as well as amending the existing ones to create a more favorable ecosystem to further accelerate the realization of digital transformation. In this regard, collaboration works between the government, the private sector, and development partners are playing a crucial role in enhancing digital transformation in Ethiopia.
The development of the digital sector is helping the nation to realize a robust digital economy, and according to Belete, new national strategies and initiatives are being developed and actively implemented to accelerate the digitalization journey as well as to ensure a digital economy.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 18 APRIL 2025
