Ethiopia has attracted more than 3.7 billion USD Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) during the concluded fiscal year, according to the Investment Commission (EIC).
In a press conference he gave on 28 August, Dr Belachew Mekuria, EIC Commissioner, said the nation has managed to lure the stated amount of FDI, despite the multi-faceted challenges the country has faced over the year.
According to Belachew, the performance is low compared to the plan, which was to attract investment worth of 4.6 billion USD due to some challenges that the nation has faced.
Lack of foreign currency and unrest observed in some parts of the country has negatively contributed to the reduction of the FDI inflow, he stated.
According to the Commissioner, China, India and Turkey are the leading countries whose investors engaged in various investment areas during the stated time.
Through the efforts exerted to stabilize the situation, the government has managed to maintain existing investments and simultaneously managed to attract new companies into the country, he noted.
The commission has also issued investment licenses to 275 foreign projects with a combined capital of over 5 billion USD in during the stated time, he added.
Ethiopia’s investment has created job opportunities for 133, 000 citizens over the year in the newly built industrial parks and some other investment ventures, it was indicated.
The Horn of African country has given due attention to industrial development and attract more foreign direct investment to realise development.
The development of industrial parks across the country in addition to incentives and the conducive business environment is helping the nation to attract more investment.
Ethiopia is working to realise its ambition of becoming an industrial hub in the region and structural transformation by scaling up the performance of the manufacturing sector.
The recent reforms to partially privatise major public enterprises could be taken as a significant step forward to realise its ambitious target.
