The Amhara State consists of 12 administrative zones, three metropolitan city, 181 woredas (districts), and 38 urban centers. Whilst Bahir Dar is the capital city of the state, Amharic is the working language. Situated at the southern tip of Lake Tana, the city of Bahir Dar is far apart from Addis Ababa about 563 kilometers and it is the only African winner of 2002 UNESCO award for its development and potential.
The Amhara State is situated in Ethiopia’s north west and bordered by Afar to the east, Tigray to the north, the Sudan to the west, Benishangul-Gumuz to the southwest and Oromia to the south. Concerning area, Amhara consists 161, 828.4 kilometers, makes up 15 percent of the country’s total area.
The current investment trend in the Amhara State
According to Amhara State Industry and Investment Bureau, until March 2019, more than 14,727 investment projects have been licensed in the State of Amhara with an aggregate capital of over 250.7 billion Birr. These investment projects have been providing employment opportunities for over 2.6 million citizens. Licenses were given in the areas of agriculture, industry, hotel and tourism, real estate commerce and social services.
Glancing Amhara State investment opportunities
The state is endowed with political and social responsibility, hardworking people, abundant and trainable labor force as well as strategic location to the ports of Djibouti, Sudan and Eritrea. The state’s fertile and cultivable land, competitive incentive packages, no tolerance to corruption and simple and transparent investment procedures and conducive business climate also make it a preferred destination.
Agriculture
Apart from stable political climate, readily available land for agro-processing and industrial purposes at 11 industrial zones and long rural land lease period up to 30 years are designed to support investment projects. Also, rent free urban and rural land incentives for selected projects, mainly horticulture and floriculture, small royalty fees for fish processing and priority in servicing investment sites are also among the incentive packages for investors.
The state has over one million hectares of land favorable for crop production, close to four million hectares of land for livestock development, two million hectares for forestry products. Furthermore, over 2.6 million hectares of land is conducive for eco-tourism and 1.6 million hectares is for horticulture and floriculture products.
The area has also huge livestock population and over 13 million heads of cattle, more than eight million heads of sheep and five million and plus heads of goats live in the area. In addition, over 14 million poultry, more than one million bee heaves and above 60,000 heads of camels avail the enormous opportunities for investors want to engage in the sector.
In this regard, the state has untapped investment opportunities in livestock sector in particular in livestock farming, meat processing and animal feed processing. Amhara State is also known by its honey products and the annual honey yield of the state picks up to 7.9 million kilograms along with its noted high quality, according to the stated source.
For investors who want to take part in the aquaculture, the total fish catch potential from fresh waters is estimated at 255,000 quintals per year and Lake Tana alone has the capacity of producing 152,000 quintals of fish per annum.
Manufacturing
The State of Amhara has ample investment in the manufacturing sector in particular in textile and textile products industry such as production of yarn, woven, knitted and crocheted fabric. Leather and leather products such as leather footwear as well as tanning of hides and skins are produced in a considerable amount. Regarding food industry, wide investment opportunities are available for manufacturing of sugar, processing of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables.
The state is desirous to attract multinational and local companies in the beverage industry in particular in the manufacturing of wine, beer and beer malt as well as alcoholic, soft drink, mineral water or other bottled waters. Companies are also warmly welcomed to involve in the pharmaceutical, chemical, wood, metal, and building materials as well as ICT, mining, and other priority sectors.
Tourism
The Amhara State has natural rich cultural heritages, religious, archeological and historical places such as the rock hewn churches of Lalibela, the palaces of Gondar locally called ‘Fasil Ginb’, the Semen Mountain National Park and several endemic animals including Walia Ibex, the Red Fox and Gelada Baboon.
The state’s enormous cultural and historical tourism potential in this regard believed to be conducive for both local and foreign investors who want to involve in the construction of star-designated hotels, loges and motels in major tourist attraction sites.
Social services
The area has significant opportunities in health investment for companies engaged in constructing general and specialized hospitals. Investors could also take part in the education sector in constructing secondary schools, science and technology colleges and universities as well as schools for medical science and ITC institutions.
State government’s support to priority areas
The state government has been paying due attention to attract private investments in priority sector in particular in the manufacturing industry by providing export incentives, customs duty exemption, income tax holidays, and offering land in competitive lease price. It has also invested hugely in construction of industry zones to ease infrastructural and bureaucratic setbacks the investors have been encountering.
The local administration has also been engaged in improving the doing business environment with infrastructure development and by availing a trained and disciplined labor force that is a key to bring more foreign direct investment to the state, the bureau noted.
The Ethiopian Herald February 4/2020
BY BILAL DERSO
