Category: Business

The African E-Trade Group ((Ae Trade) is working to enhance intra-and inter-trade in Africa.

The African E-Trade Group (AeTrade) is a multi-stakeholder group of African professionals and business people with a vision to develop and implement e-empowerment program that will enhance intra-and inter-African trade.

AeTrade Group organized a sensitization forum on Africa job creation today at the UNECA, under the theme ‘Accelerating Job Creation, Digital and Financial Inclusion in the implementation of the AfCFTA’.

Speaking on the occasion, AeTrade CEO, Mulualem Syoum, said the group brings together the public and private sector partners to develop projects that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the benefit of Africa’s present and future entrepreneurs.

Following the AU decision to accelerate digital and financial inclusions and work together with all stakeholders, the Africa diaspora initiative is helping to create one Africa market, he said.

He also said that digitalization is one of the fast tracking for growth as well us to boost intra African trade as well us to be part of the global trade.

Therefore, in partnership with the AU, AeT launched a digital market place, https://sokokuu.africa/ in 2020 , he said.

According to him, the website is designed to enable African producers throughout the continent to display and sell their produce online and boost intra African trade.

In less than seven years from now, some 95 percent of the global trade will be undertaken digitally, he said.

Therefore, the group will provide support to member states, and enable African SMEs to trade in digital platforms, he pointed out.

Trade is going to be knowledge based in the near future, he said, adding its platform will create enabling environment for SMEs where they can be able to know about the place of the surplus, and the shortage.

Creating affordable finance is also the goal of the group, he said, adding that doing all with partners and affiliates, within the next 15 years, our target is to create between 80 to 225 million jobs.

Speaking on his part, State Minister of Labor and Skills, Nigussu Tilahun, said the government of Ethiopia supports job creative initiative.

According to him, Ethiopia is making effort to create jobs for the young people.

‘We develop a national plan of action for job creations and commit ourselves to its implementation ‘ he said.

As part of our effort, we undertook two national job summits where we provide actors in the labor market the ecosystem and a platform to come together discuss the challenges and provide innovative solution and celebrate successes, he said.

Acting Secretary General of the UNECA, Anthony Pedro, said that in 2035, the number of productive human resources in Africa will reach 450 million.

Therefore, countries should respond to the rapidly growing number of job seekers by formulating strategies and using job creation options in the continent.

He pointed out that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) is one of the great opportunities that governments should work with determination for its realization.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni, has said the government is hard at work to ensure the completion of the mass housing project, with 111 houses expected to be completed by July 2023.

In an interview with Nampa recently, Uutoni said the ministry appointed a contractor, New Era Investment, in November 2022 to complete the 505 houses in Swakopmund in the Erongo Region. Sixty-four of these houses have been completed and are ready for handing over, whilst 111 are expected to be completed in July 2023 and 319 in early 2024.

The mass housing project was the brainchild of former president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, to address Namibia’s housing crisis, with a promise to build 148 000 houses by 2030. So far, 4 130 houses have been handed over to beneficiaries, while 891 houses remained unoccupied due to incompletion, including 24 in Opuwo, 505 in Swakopmund and 362 in Windhoek.

“Government is hard at work to ensure that what has not been completed commences and is ratified. The instruction by the government is that the ministry should take up that responsibility. We are busy… and very soon the completed houses will be handed over to the beneficiaries,” Uutoni noted.

He added that the project’s abrupt stop in 2015 was due to legal disputes and underperformance by contractors.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen has called on Chinese companies to invest in Ethiopia.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen is on an official visit to China leading a high level Ethiopian government delegation. In his speech at the investment forum held in Guangzhou, the main investment center of China today, Demeke asked Chinese companies to invest in Ethiopia, seizing up the best investment opportunities in the country.

He said Ethiopia and China have a strong relationship and emphasized that it should be strengthened further in the economic sphere.

More than 300 investors from the manufacturing, agricultural, mining, energy, pharmaceutical, and other sectors participated in the investment forum.

During his stay in Guangzhou, Demeke has also visited companies related to electronics, information technology, and power generation and invited them to engage in Ethiopia, according a statement from Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Guangzhou has a population of 16 million and is the capital of China’s business hub, Guangdong Province.

In related news, Demeke met and discussed with the Mayor of Guangzhou, Guo Yonghang, where he emphasized the need to create a relationship between Guangzhou and Ethiopian cities in order to strengthen people-to-people ties.

Similarly, the mayor called on the Ethiopian manufacturers to make Guangzhou their destination for Ethiopian export products. Ethiopia’s ambassador to China, Tefera Derbew, made a statement on the occasion, saying the business forum will further solidify relations between the two countries.

According to Zhao Qing, Director General of the Guangdong Province’s Department of Commerce, numerous businesses in Guangdong involved in manufacturing, building infrastructure, mining, telecommunications, and other industries desire to enter and operate in Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

South Korea has been working to further strengthen its exiting development and trade relations with Ethiopia, Ambassador of South Korea in Ethiopia, Kang Seokhee said.

South Korean embassy in Addis Ababa has today announced a logo to depict the 60th anniversary of the commencement of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Korea.

During the occasion, Ambassador Kang Seokhee said the existing historical and diplomatic relations between the two countries has still been sustained.

According to the ambassador, the ties, that had been initiated even before the official commencement of the diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and South Korea, has now spanned more than 70 years.

The sacrifices that Ethiopia had made to the peace and stability of South Korea during the Korean War by sending more than 6,000 soldiers has a great contribution to the current economy development in South Korea, he added.

South Korea has been enjoying bilateral and development cooperation with Ethiopia over the last 60 years, the ambassador indicated.

“South Korea has the largest development cooperation projects in Ethiopia. Some 100 million USD worth of projects are being implemented in Ethiopia annually, which is the largest in Africa. We hope our friend Ethiopia will grow economically and socially.”

The Ambassador stressed the need to identify future vital areas of cooperation that should be implemented by the two countries as they celebrate the 60th anniversary their diplomatic relations.

Ambassador Seokhee pointed out that the exchange of trade is crucial to help the efforts being carried out in Ethiopia to ensure sustainable development.

The 60th anniversary of Ethiopia and South Korea will be celebrated with various programs including photo exhibition and exchange of experiences.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Market traders operating in Muthurwa and ODM Markets in Narok town have asked the county government to construct modern markets to boost trade in the county.

Susan Wairimu, a chairlady of Muthurwa Market traders in Narok, said the county government needs to prioritize the construction of modern markets to improve the living standards of small-scale traders in the county and boost trade.

“A lot of revenue is being collected in these markets; therefore, we request the county government to prioritize constructing modern markets,” she said.

Wairimu said the county government should use the revenue being collected in these markets to construct shades to protect traders from the vagaries of weather conditions.

“We pay Ksh. 50 twice a week; this is a lot of money being collected. We want to be counted as traders in the county’s development agendas,” added Wairimu.

Further, Wairimu noted that when the county government constructs modern markets, there is likely an improvement in security, hygiene, and working hours, thus boosting trade.

On her part, Mary Akoth, a vendor in the ODM market, said the county government should improve the working standards of traders in markets by constructing sheds to protect traders from harsh conditions.

“In the ODM market, we have never been considered in any construction of market shades, let alone latrines. We asked the county government to consider us traders as part of the economy’s contributors,” she added.

Akoth noted that during rainy seasons, the environment becomes unconducive for market operations since there is lots of stagnant water all over, and this poses a health risk among the traders and the customers.

Another vendor, Deborah Odeny, said that while comparing Narok town markets with other places, it shows that Narok is still lagging behind and requires lots of improvement.

Odeny mentioned that insecurity remains a persistent challenge in the marketplace, making it vulnerable to thefts and other criminal activities.

The local traders acknowledge the importance of the market places as economic hubs, generating employment opportunities and fostering local business, and leaders should take them seriously.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Malawi wants to share the experience of Ethiopia in the energy sector and strengthen trade relations, Charge d’Affaires Diana Jere said.

Malawi’s Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy in Ethiopia, Diana Nkomba Jere said the two countries really need to strengthen their bilateral relations in many fields so that both can benefit.

We need to strengthen trade between Malawi and Ethiopia because Ethiopia is a big and larger economy, she added.

In Malawi, “we are struggling with energy issue, and we might get some help and guidance and direction from Ethiopia. We do need to boost our economy through trade and energy.”

According to her, the two countries also need to find ways of engaging each other in bilateral issues.

For example, the issue of free movement of people and people getting across Malawi without permission to go there.

As a government, we need to work together to ensure that these issues are resolved amicably and find ways of making sure that our people are interacting at equal basis, she elaborated.

In this regard, the Charge d’Affaires said that the African Continental Free Trade Area is important because if we put a lot of restrictions in a way people move, that would be like a shortcoming to free trade.

Therefore, we need people to learn from each other, teach each other and benefit from each other countries skills and knowledge so that the two countries can benefit, she stated.

“Africa is blessed in a way that we have different economies. There are some countries who are doing very well and those can teach the other countries. Because if one country is remaining behind, it means the other cannot progress very well. So we need to find a way of balancing the two.”

Jere further said that as Africa we are saying that we want Africa to be in this way. “One thing that I want to agree with the 2063 Agenda is that we want an Africa that is working together with less conflict and respect each other.”

Official documents show that Ethiopia and Malawi had diplomatic relations as far back as the 1960s and the two countries have been working very closely together in various areas.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency