Ethiopians residing abroad have been participating in various business engagements so as to ensure steady economic growth in the country. Right after 2018, such sort of business congregation has not been observed especially in the United States due to unknown reason.
The Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum is a valuable contribution to the needs of the Diaspora business community especially in provision of information to enable the Diaspora to participate in Ethiopia’s economic development in a meaningful way. Conducting the gathering of this kind is critically imperative for the Ethiopian Diaspora community which is keen to chart out what positive roles they can play in the fast changing Ethiopian landscape and the future of its economy which also impacts the community.
“Ethiopia is at a crossroad in many ways. The recent economic reforms announced by the Government of Ethiopia will significantly change the way the Ethiopian Diaspora will invest and work in Ethiopia,” Yohannes Assefa, Executive Director of the Forum and Managing Director of the Ethiopian American LLC said.
According to him, the Diaspora business community is eager to participate and support the process of liberalization in a thoughtful and prudent manner. “We are hopeful and encouraged by the proposed changes. We believe we can add value and contribute to the process while helping to avoid unintended challenges that could easily result from this process”
But little, if at all, did the group of young Ethiopian Diaspora professionals in North America know that their extreme frustration from the lack of sustainable link between the Diaspora community and their homeland, in fact was a sign something new and big was about to start. They may never have thought of this famous Ethiopian motivational maxim when, eight years ago, they began discussing ways to embark on something unprecedented.
Maybe, they were also not sure how far their plan would go. They simply wanted to engage the Diaspora community to spur dialogue within the Diaspora community and to build a bridge with their country of birth, Ethiopia. Fortunately, they were not the only ones with this vision of raising the issue of contributing to Ethiopia in a meaningful way.
The timing of their initiative coincided with the launch of a new web-based community magazine, The Ethiopian American, a non-partisan magazine, which was also looking for ways to engage the Ethiopian Diaspora community on key issues affecting the community.
In 2004, the magazine and the young professionals joined forces to stage one of their successful public events, a lecture by Getachew Mengistie, who at the time was the Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO). The purpose of the lecture was to educate the Ethiopian Diaspora on the substance of Ethiopia’s trademark dispute with the Starbucks Corporation on the use of Ethiopia’s most famous coffee names: Keffa, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe. The group assisted both the EIPO and Oxfam in mobilizing 100,000 petitions against Starbucks.
The success of the lecture and the awareness it created within the Ethiopian community in the United States contributed to Starbucks’ eventual recognition of Ethiopia’s right to the aforementioned trademarks.
Buoyed by the success of the lecture series, the magazine and its partners began to look for ways to enhance and extend the dialogue to a larger audience, including for ways to spur investment and trade in Ethiopia. In June 2005, the magazine began a new chapter by organizing the first Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum (the “Forum”) with the generous financial support of USAID/ VEGA Ethiopian AGOA + and several Diaspora businesses.
Since the launch of the Forum, many important issues have been tackled, and valuable information have been shared with the Diaspora community in the areas of nostalgic trade, trade and investment with Ethiopia and the United States, the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), trade and investment financing and related regulatory affairs.
Specifically, over the years, the Forum has proved to be an effective platform for the Diaspora community to exchange ideas and critically important information about the overall economic situation back home, the opportunities and challenges of investing in Ethiopia, among other major issues. The Forum has also focused on providing information on financing for Diaspora investors, both in the US and in Ethiopia, and on useful tips on how to improve the odds of success.
The community lectures and the Forums have greatly contributed to the growing social and business relationship between the Diaspora community and Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is in the midst of an economic transition. The country’s economy has become a top destination for Foreign Direct Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the country’s impressive economic growth, many challenges persist.
The Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum needs to be further upheld as it reviews and discusses current business opportunities and challenges in light of the 10 year home grown economic plan announced by the Government of Ethiopia. On the other hand, Ethiopia-Dubai Diaspora Business Forum can be taken as model arrangements for Ethiopians abroad.
The business forum brings together business communities from Ethiopia and the UAE with the intention of business networking and promoting business opportunities between the two nations. Misganu Arega, Ethiopia’s State Minister of Trade and Industry, speaking at the opening of the forum, said the platform is important to consolidate the bilateral relations between the two countries and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is keen to take lessons from UAE to increase the export of value added products, he added.
Ambassador Misganu further noted that, in addition to attracting investments, works are underway to address challenges facing investors in Ethiopia. Recalling the investment promotion and protection agreement signed recently between the two sides, the State Minister said Ethiopia is also working to boost its people-to-people and trade relations with the UAE.
By and large, the diaspora business forums are an important arrangement to bridge the gap between the diaspora and their home country and have to be strengthened than ever before in the areas where Ethiopian citizens reside in large numbers. For this to happen, the Ethiopian government needs to provide relentless support for them.
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
The Ethiopian Herald May 9/2021
