As we approach the end of 2020, I wish to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and the very best for 2021. In many ways, the year 2020 has been a memorable year for all the wrong reasons. What started as a promising year, especially for Ethiopia, and the beginning of a new decade turned very quickly into one of the most challenging years that the world has seen in recent history. Countries across regions and the world at large, regardless of size and level of development, were forced to implement partial and total lockdown of their economies with devastating consequences on business, employment and investment flows. No-one predicted the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that followed. Therefore, no country was prepared for it.

Ethiopia was among the first set of countries that took bold and decisive actions to increase awareness of Covid-19 pandemic among the population and introduce effective measures to control the spread of the virus in the country. Thanks largely to the farsighted and astuteness of the Ethiopian leadership, these measures were implemented swiftly and effectively.

In addition to increasing facilities in the health sector, the Government undertook a series of policy measures to prevent mass unemployment, minimize hardship among low-income households and support the business community, both small and large.During the early days of the pandemic, the Council of Ministers announced several tax-related measures and an employee pension payment scheme covering the first few months of the year. The National Bank of Ethiopia also made over 15bn ETB available to private banks in the form of liquidity injection to enable them to provide debt relief and additional loans to their customers. Moreover, banks were instructed to allocate foreign currency to importers and manufacturers engaged in the production and supply of products used to control Covid-19.

For more read Commissioner Lelise Neme's Message for the new year

Ethiopia’s Economic Reform Catches Israeli Investors Attention, Says Ambassador Raphael Morav

The ongoing economic reform measures in Ethiopia have attracted the attention of Israeli investors, according to Israel’s Ambassador to Ethiopia.

Speaking at a webinar jointly organized by Ethiopia’s Embassy in Israel and Israel-Africa Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Ambassador Raphael Morav said Israel supports the ongoing economic reform.

The ambassador, who noted that Ethiopia has enormous investment potentials, stated that the country has been taking economic reform measures during the last two and half years in order to create a conducive environment for foreign investors.

Foreign Affairs State Minister, Tsion Teklu said the government has been taking political and economic reform measures to help freedom and prosperity flourish and to create all-inclusive private sector-led economic development in the country.

See More at https://www.ena.et/en/?p=19930

Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) held discussions with investors from America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and other countries on the newly amended investment legislation at Hyatt Regency Hotel at Addis Ababa.

The discussion platform is co-organized by Ethiopian Investment Commission with a view to enhancing to attract and retain foreign direct investment (FDI) and multifaceted developments in the investment sector.

During the meetings, the investors shared their concern and challenges which is important inputs for further development. Aftercare strategic action also introduced during the sessions.

The Commission also held similar discussions with the Middle East and Asia, Turkey, Israel as well as industrial park investors aimed to update on the amended investment law and initiate good communications for better aftercare services.

Officials from IPDC also joined the seminar while industrial park investors and IP developers received a briefing on the investment law reform.

Source: Public Relations Directorate

Huawei Technologies Corp. is positioning itself to get more business in Ethiopia, as the East African economy opens up its telecommunications sector.

“Ethiopia is rising and becoming much more important for the future,” Loise Tamalgo, Huawei’s head of public relations for 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said in an interview in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan. The company is likely to move a regional office covering about five nations from the Democratic Republic Congo to Ethiopia, where it currently only has a country office, he said.

Liberalization of the telecom industry is at the forefront of what Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in 2018 would be a wide-ranging privatization program. The plan was intended to bring in much needed foreign exchange and boost the economy while improving connectivity across the Horn of Africa nation.

The country is seeking to double its mobile towers to about 14,000, which would require an investment of up to $1.1 billion, and build out its fiber-optic network from less than 30,000 kilometers (18,600 miles) currently, according to the Ethiopian Communications Authority. It also plans to sell a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom and issue two new telecom licenses next year.

See More at https://africabusinessnetworking.com/huawei-eyes-ethiopia-growth-as-telecoms-industry-opens-up/