BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
In a bid to transform its economic base from agriculture to industry and diversify its economic base, Ethiopia is implementing economic reform measures that aim to up the participation of the private sector in investment in agro-processing, industry and service sectors. Following the introduction of the reform, regional states where many of the federal government-sponsored industrial parks are located are expected to play a crucial role in facilitating the participation of domestic as well as foreign investors.
At the federal level, the Ethiopian Investment Commission organized various discussion forums that focus on the investment climate in the country to listen to local and international investors and development partners and senior government officials. Following the discussions, local and international investors have shown strong interests to invest in the country and tap the opportunity.
In line with national aspiration, the Amhara regional state Investment Bureau is undertaking various activities to create favorable investment climate to lure local and foreign investors. It has also been hearing the concerns of investors to resolve their concerns to come up with timely solutions.
The Ethiopian Herald approached Amhara state Investment Bureau Promotion and Communication Director Yihenew Alem to learn what the Bureau is doing in line with the national ambition to attract investors in various sectors where the state has potential.
According to him, the state administration is preparing a ten-year investment plan by identifying potentials in agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, infrastructure development including power supply as well as the tourism and services sectors to create jobs for the youth, facilitate skill and technology transfer and improve the country’s export earnings.
“In the past couple of years, the investment inflow to our regional state has shown significant progress. Investors have now started to look into developing the potential resources in the state to gain returns,” Yihenew said. “In addition, as the region is home to various natural and historical heritages, investors are investing in the tourism sector.”
The regional state administration is aspiring to welcome and host a large number of investors. To do so, the Investment bureau has come up with a number of incentive packages, as to him. It has also been undertaking collaborative activities to create a safe and favorable investment climate.
The Bureau has identified several investment areas to give due attention to. “The regional state has untapped investment opportunities in the livestock sector, particularly in livestock farming, meat processing and animal feed processing,” Yihenew underlined.
In 2019, more than 14,727 investment projects with an aggregate capital of over 250.7 billion Birr have been licensed in the Amhara regional state. These investment projects have been projected to create over 2.6 million job opportunities for citizens.
To sustain the encouraging results gained so far and create a more conducive investment environment, investment sectors requiring incentives have been identified based on research. Accordingly, the identified sectors have accessed different incentive packages.
In this regard, the regional government is giving special attention to agro-processing and manufacturing industries including horticulture, floriculture, and herbs processing using inputs from the surrounding environment, he added.
To this end, directive No. 24/1998 E.C on industrial village land lease payment, and directive No. 17/2006 E.C on flower, vegetables, and herbs development have been put in place as instruments of providing incentives for the investors interested to engage in such investment sectors and sub-sectors. Based on previous experiences and national aspirations to lure investment, the regional state administration is preparing a ten-year investment plan and the process is well underway.
The majority of the investment inflow has moved to Debrebrehan and Kambolcha towns. Since the start of the overall economic and political reform, Debreberehan has become one of the major destinations of investment in Ethiopia due to the favorable investment climate and its nearness to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. Kambolach is also getting its fair share of investment inflow as it is one of the established industrial towns in Ethiopia. Other cities and town that are endowed with abundant investment potentials and favorable investment climate such as natural resources, affordable skilled and disciplined workforce and their strategic geographical location with respect to the ports in Djibouti, Sudan and Eritrea, Yihenew said adding the regional state’s fertile and cultivable land, competitive incentive packages, improving peace and security situation, intolerance to corruption, simple and transparent investment procedures and conducive business climate are also making it a preferred destination in the country.
World Bank to invest over 5 bln USD to restore degraded landscapes in Africa
The World Bank announced that it plans to invest over 5 billion USD over the the next five years to help restore degraded landscapes, improve agriculture productivity, and promote livelihoods across 11 African countries on a swathe of land stretching from Senegal to Djibouti.
The over 5 billion USD investment will support agriculture, biodiversity, community development, food security, landscape restoration, job creation, resilient infrastructure, rural mobility, and access to renewable energy across the countries of the Sahel, LakeChad and Horn of Africa, it was learned.
World Bank Group President, David Malpass announced the investment at the One Planet Summit, a high-level meeting co-hosted with France and the United Nations, that focused on addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.
He said the financial investment “will help improve livelihoods as countries recover from COVID-19 while also dealing with the impact of both biodiversity loss and climate change on their people and economies.”
African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat stressed the benefits of the financial investment, adding that “restoring natural ecosystems in the dry lands of Africa benefits both the people and the planet.”
The World Bank Group is the biggest multilateral funder of climate investments in developing countries.
In December 2020, it announced an ambitious new target for 35% of its financing to have climate co-benefits, on average, over the next five years.
The Ethiopian herald January 14/2021
