Sensing the ongoing reform activities in Ethiopia, various transnational companies are showing interest to invest in the country. This clearly depicts that the reform is a success in grabbing the attention of giant companies that have huge capital and advanced technology.
At the start of this week, Jack Ma, the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, has come to Ethiopia, leading a large business delegation. Jack Ma said he has been inspired by the ongoing reform in Ethiopia and expresses his desire to work with Ethiopia.
The partnership with Alibaba Group, a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company specializing in e- commerce, retail, internet, and technology, is very crucial to transform the country to a better position. Keeping his promises made last August, Jack Ma visited Ethiopia and has signed an agreement with government officials to make Ethiopia a hub of electric world trade platform (eWTP).
The company provides Consumer to Consumer (C2C), Business to Consumer (B2C), and Business to Business (B2B) sales services via web portals, as well as electronic payment services, shopping search engines and cloud computing services. The agreements are significant in that Alibaba owns and operates a diverse array of businesses around the world in numerous sectors, and is named as one of the world’s most renowned companies.
As per the agreement made, the Group, which is believed to accelerate Ethiopia’s development endeavors, promised to continue its support for the creation of a more inclusive, digitally enable global economy where small businesses can participate in the global trade and seize the opportunity provided by the digital data.
Especially at this critical juncture, when Ethiopia together with other African countries is trying to implement intra-African trade which boosts the continent’s trading position in the global market, the agreement made between the two parties is timely.
The agreement is expected to facilitate cross border trade, provide smart logistics and fulfillment services, and assist small and medium scale enterprises to reach China and other possible market destinations. In short, the agreement is an important step in transforming Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has a vision of building dynamic and growing digital economy that contributes significantly to the overall economic growth. In this regard, the agreement is a step forward to attain the target by promoting public-private dialogue and thereby support global trade, policy innovation and provide greater opportunity for SMEs.
Apart from contributing greatly to trade facilitation and open market access to Ethiopia’s Small and Medium Enterprises, the visit of Jack Ma has significant implications for the country’s development. What is more, the agreements will initiate and attract other transnational companies who have aspirations to invest in Ethiopia.
As it has its own positive impact in transforming the lives of many, the commitment and readiness of the Alibaba Group to realize the objectives of the platform is timely and worth appreciation. Working with transnational companies like Alibaba group is imperative and crucial so as to accelerate Ethiopia’s economic growth in all aspects.
The Ethiopian Herald, November 28/2019
