ADDIS ABABA-The Ministry of Innovation and Technology signed agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by providing loans.
Minister of Innovation and Technology Engineer Getahun Mekuria said that the agreement aims to promote the private sectors through providing loan for SMEs. This agreement is part of the corporation wing of the World Bank to facilitate the private sector, he added. As to him, the agreement will have immense opportunities to widen private sector engagement.
He said that equipping and advancing SMEs with technologies,addressing the enterprises’ financial constraints and creating huge job opportunities are among the major focus areas of the agreement, adding that the Ministry will seize maximum efforts to effectuate the agreement. “The agreement will reduce bureaucracy that the enterprises encountered in the past to fulfill capital goods demand on time”.
This is the manifestations of lots of international companies’ willingness to support the country following the ongoing national reform, he noted. According to him, the Ministry is undertaking various measures regarding cultivating technology through successive research and innovations.
IFC CEO Philippe Le Houerou for his part said that the objective of the agreement is to prove access financial services for developing countries to promote their private sector’s role in the national development endeavors. The country will also utilize this opportunity to effectively deliver financial demand for enterprises, he added. As to him, IFC recognizes the moves of the Ministry regarding facilitating the ways forward to realize the agreement.
The Ethiopian Herald, December 26/2018
BY TAMERU REGASA
