Day: June 6, 2023

Ethiopia’s economy has been growing resiliently despite the shocks and difficulties in recent years, Trade and Development Bank (TDB) Group Executive Management Board Chairman Admassu Tadesse told ENA.

The chairman said that Ethiopia “has been growing quite strongly and resiliently despite the shocks and difficulties in recent years.”

Citing the population growth in Africa, Admassu stated that the country will be one of the biggest markets within Africa as it is already very sizable with around 120 million people.

Elaborating on the massive economic reforms undertaken by the government, he pointed out that “Ethiopia has been doing the right thing. Very bold reforms that have been long-overdue; and I think there is exciting development in the financial sector. We hope that will continue so that Ethiopia can actually unleash the true power of the financial sector.”

For Admassu, Ethiopia has very good commercial banks and they can scale up quickly and be part of the solution that everybody is looking for.

Further noting that the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is crucial for African integration and unleashing the opportunities in each country, the chairman noted that Ethiopia is part of a continent which is integrating, and being part of the collective is significantly important.

Recall that the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration recently affirmed that Ethiopia is intensifying efforts to increase its export destinations across the continent as AfCFTA brings new opportunities to realize its ambitions.

Proponents of the AfCFTA underline the enormous opportunities of the free trade area, among others, increasing economic growth, forex generation, growing flow of FDI, and creating jobs.

So, the reforms that have been embarked upon in the past couple of years by Ethiopia are definitely the right way to go, Admassu stressed.

The banking sector and the economic sector as a whole is going to be part of that integration. Every African country has the duty to do its part to link up and to create a better value proposition for the continent as whole, according to the group president.

By eliminating barriers to trade in Africa, the objective of the AfCFTA is to significantly boost intra-Africa trade, particularly trade in value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Africa needs deeper linkages employing its opportunity to champion in trade and investment of the global market, Trade and Regional Integration State Minister Endalew Mekonen said.

Addressing the Africa trade and investment summit held in Addis Ababa today, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Endalew Mekonen said “Africa can be an opportunity of champion related to trade and investment in a global market.”

He added it is important that Africa goes to deeper and deeper particularly into continental market linkage among African countries such as AfCFTA.

Similarly, CEO of Investment Center of Africa, Abdinasir Turky said Africa is the land of opportunities where creating conducive environment is crucial to unlock such opportunities, he pointed out.

For the CEO, the summit is pivotal to exchange information, and discussing on trade and investment opportunities in African countries as whole.

Strong business environment partnership is also instrumental to realize the continent’s economic ambitions, he noted.

State Minister of Industry Hassan Mohammed for his part mentioned the reform agenda which has been key in easing doing business in Ethiopia.

‘Let Ethiopia Produce’ movement is also one of the recent initiatives which is being undertaken by the government to promote the ample investment opportunities in the country, he indicated.

Invest in Ethiopia’s manufacturing, mining, agriculture and other emerging sectors and opportunities and economic challenges shaping Africa’s future were among the points of discussion at the one-day summit.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency