Rivertemz:

Do you mean you live in south Africa.
And that's not a healthy mindset, what else would u rather be ??
I'm guessing you are young, Hope for a brighter future for Africa, because the older generation were slow and negative.
Don't carry the same negativity, no one else will respect Africans if we don't see the Good in our Land. Things will change.
Right now Nigeria is much better politically & economically compared to abt 40 years ago. And Ethiopia has never been colonized, but it has been isolated from the rest of the world, so things will change slowly.

Everything takes time. Many African countries only got independence 50 years ago. But places like America have been independent for hundreds of years. So don't think Africa has lost, when we have the richest resources in the world.
There will be a change. Love yourself, Love being Ethiopian, And be curious about other African cultures, don't be negative like other africans, Dream big my sister. God Bless

thanks for d advice n' i always dream big. I am always proud being an ethiopian bt i feel lyk am also responsible to make dis generation better. I want ol african ppl specially d youth n' d young ones to hold hand together cuz i beleive dat we can change d world. N' we wil, bt nt wiz dis pace. We ethiopians respect our culture n' we're strict whn it comes to dat, bt i can c d other africans changing their identity to d western n' i wana change dat, and i knw dat i can

Rivertemz:

Do you mean you live in south Africa.
And that's not a healthy mindset, what else would u rather be ??
I'm guessing you are young, Hope for a brighter future for Africa, because the older generation were slow and negative.
Don't carry the same negativity, no one else will respect Africans if we don't see the Good in our Land. Things will change.
Right now Nigeria is much better politically & economically compared to abt 40 years ago. And Ethiopia has never been colonized, but it has been isolated from the rest of the world, so things will change slowly.

Everything takes time. Many African countries only got independence 50 years ago. But places like America have been independent for hundreds of years. So don't think Africa has lost, when we have the richest resources in the world.
There will be a change. Love yourself, Love being Ethiopian, And be curious about other African cultures, don't be negative like other africans, Dream big my sister. God Bless

i live in ethiopia nt S/A. Bt i've heard ethiopians tellin' whats hap. Out der,

I've been reading good reports about Ethiopia


Ethiopia’s stellar growth: Lessons for Kenya – and perhaps South Africa

Over the last decade, Ethiopia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing – perhaps THE fastest-growing – economies in Africa. Even though “double-digit” growth has become something of an official mantra, independent appraisals still put it at over 10 percent from 2003-13, double the sub-Saharan average. Growth is driven by a determined government policy of creating the conditions for development, notably through a massive level of infrastructural investment.

At first glance you know that the head-office of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia on Addis Ababa’s Churchill Road must have been built in the 1960s. The tatty concrete rotunda has no redeeming features – save, as it turns out, its staff.

Inside the tellers are organised in a giant circle, the commercial signs advertising a plethora of money transfer agencies.

“You want to buy a bond for the Grand Renaissance Dam?” exclaimed the startled assistant. “Come with me,” she smiled, showing the way to her colleagues working the inner ring behind the tellers. Such old-world naiveté is unlikely in most places, where security takes precedence over service. “Sit down,” she said, while organising a conversion from dollars into birr.

Construction of the controversial Grand Renaissance Dam, known as the GERD, on the Blue Nile near to the Sudanese border began in 2011. When completed in 2017 it will produce 6,000 MW, making it the largest hydro-electric plant in Africa. With the turbines and other electrical equipment to be funded by Chinese banks to the tune of $1.8 billion, the remainder of the $4.8 billion bill is to be met with the Ethiopian government, financed in part through the bond, targeting diaspora and local Ethiopians.

A group of three Chinese men scuttled past as the bond forms were completed, pushing a trolley on which rested three bulky black holdalls.

Available in amounts from 25 to 1 million birr, and with a dollar denominated option, not many individual foreigners have so far taken up the offer. “You are the second,” said Eyob, the bank manager, “we had an Italian in here some time back”. An Italian construction firm is building the dam, memories of darker days of Abyssinian invasions forgiven. Indeed, Ethiopians exhibit a remarkable pragmatism about their history, intent mostly on looking forward, not back. As one official publication notes about the “Italian colonialists”, they “made enormous efforts to modernise the country with the construction of the first proper road network and numerous public buildings”.

“You want interest?” Eyob asks, frowning, before filling out the colourful bond certificate. A little surprised at that request, he was more perplexed by the stipulated date of repayment. “Why 2025?” he laughed. “Most Ethiopians give just five years”.

Without much in the way of natural resources and, since the independence of Eritrea in May 1991, landlocked, and with its population rising fast towards the hundred million mark, Ethiopia’s development options seem limited.

Yet, so far the absence of natural resource driven growth has proven an advantage.

Over the last decade, Ethiopia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing – perhaps the fastest-growing – economies in Africa. Even though ‘double-digit’ growth has become something of an official mantra, independent appraisals still put it at over ten percent from 2003-13, double the sub-Saharan average.

Growth is driven, rather, by a determined government policy of creating the conditions for development, notably through a massive level of infrastructural investment.

Ambitious plans are afoot for a massive expansion of the rail network, hitherto confined to the ancient railway from the port at Djibouti to Addis Ababa, which has now been upgraded from narrow to standard gauge, which should be in operation by 2016. The 700-km line is being built at a cost of $4-billion by Chinese companies. Ethiopia is seeking to have 5,000 km of new rail lines working across the country by 2020. A national fibre optic cable system is being laid to help rectify one of the major weaknesses, in telecoms. In addition to the GERD, there are a number of smaller but still significant hydro-electric projects underway elsewhere, notably on the Gibe River in the south of the country.

Funding for infrastructure has come from a mix of sources: improvements in tax revenue collection (businesses routinely complain what a pest the tax authorities have become), some concessional financing (mainly from China) and other donors who provide around $3 billion annually from grants and loans, and domestic borrowing. Local banks are required by government to convert up to 27 percent of their holdings into government bonds to finance infrastructure, including the grand dam, this pressure-point one of the reasons why Ethiopia has so far not permitted foreign banks to open operations. What effectively amounts to a forced loan to the state has created something of a local banking liquidity crisis.

Now the key question is whether Ethiopia can create or attract the level of private sector productive enterprise needed to turn this infrastructure into the basis for a functioning modern economy.

Private sector development and growth has rhetorically, at least, become a government refrain. As the state minister of finance Ahmed Shide puts it, “success to our plans will now be determined by the response of the private sector. Investment is key in this. This process can’t just be led by the state which can’t itself generate wealth; it can only facilitate it.”

In this, amidst the debate about whether “Africa can be the next China” as manufacturing input (especially labour) costs rise in Asia, Ethiopia “wants”, he says, to be the light manufacturing hub of Africa. Ethiopian workers cost one-tenth the price of those in China for example. This view is a refreshing departure from South Africa-speak about not “struggling to work in sweat shops”.

The establishment of “Shoe City” by the Huajian Group in the eastern industrial zone, now employing 3,200 workers making 180,000 pairs a month, came about as a result of a personal invitation to the company’s founder to open a plant by Ethiopia’s late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi during a 2011 trip to China.

There are six such industrial zones now in Ethiopia, offering low or zero tariffs on imported manufactured goods, and tax holidays of up to seven years. Another 20 Chinese firms have joined Huajian in the eastern zone, 37kms from Addis.

Kenya, bordering on Ethiopia to the south, has similarly ambitious infrastructure aims. A new $25-billion port complex is planned for Lamu. A $3.5-billion standard-gauge railway is currently under construction from Mombasa to Nairobi and, possibly, beyond.

There are other parallels. Both have young populations, Kenya’s median age at 19 versus 17 in Ethiopia. Both are highly dependent on agriculture (comprising half of GDP and absorbing 85 percent of the workforce in Ethiopia's case, 30 percent and 75 percent in Kenya’s). They run similar budget deficits, levels of public debt are equally high above 50 percent of GDP, and poverty in both remains around 40 percent of the population.

There are differences, of course. While Ethiopia is landlocked, Kenya is the gateway to South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Congo in eastern Africa. Kenya’s nominal per capita GDP is, at $1,250, more than twice that of Ethiopia (US$ 570 estimated for 2014). Nudging 100 million, Ethiopia has more than double Kenya’s population, and twice the land area.

But most notably, the dissimilarity centres around security and governance, key factors affecting respective development trajectory, whatever Kenya’s comparative advantages of geography and arithmetic.

Perhaps the most important reason for Ethiopia’s stellar growth performance is its political stability. It has, for a start, a state that works – in striking contrast to many other African countries such as, most obviously, Kenya or Nigeria. The oldest state in Africa, and the only one to retain its independence through the colonial era, it rests on engrained habits of command and obedience. This creates its own problems, but it does mean that the government has a capacity, shared by few African states, to make and effectively implement policies.

Especially over the last decade, since a political crisis in 2005 that raised serious questions about its survival, the government in Addis Ababa that seized power from the Derg military junta in May 1991 has devoted itself single-mindedly to creating a ‘developmental state’ based on east Asian models. This is most visible in the dramatic expansion in the scale and quality of the road network, and urban development not only in Addis Ababa – now a megalopolis of some seven million people – but in cities throughout the country. Further education has likewise boomed, with over thirty universities geared especially to turning out graduates in engineering and natural sciences, though their quality is certainly questionable.

Read the rest: http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/artic.../#.VT6VoSFVhBc

con't ...


Ethiopia Rides Manufacturing Boom


Photo: Addis Fortune


press release

The government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has ushered in a manufacturing boom that is set to make the country a major regional player across several lines of products.

The widespread eagerness to invest is made that much more due to a large domestic market and an increasing number of skilled workers.

It is no wonder that some have dubbed Ethiopia as the 'Bangladesh of Africa' and with good reason. There has been tangible success already, with Chinese, Turkish and European garment manufacturers seeking to expand their operations.

However there are plenty of other areas worthy of attention.

The major manufacturing activities are in the production of food, beverages, tobacco, textiles and garments.

There are also opportunities in leather goods, paper, metallic and non-metallic mineral products, cement and chemicals.

Under the Growth and Transformation Plan (2010/11-2014/15), production of textile and garments, leather products, cement industry, metal and engineering, chemical, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing are priority areas for investment.

Thus there are ample manufacturing opportunities for prospective investors in the following areas:

- Textiles and clothing. Spinning, weaving and finishing of textiles from the beginning and the production of garments; manufacture of knitted and crocheted fabrics, carpets and sportswear and so on. The choice is yours.

- Food and beverage products; processing of meat and meat products, fish and fish products and fruits and vegetables. Investors can also delve into integrated production and processing of dairy products; manufacture of starch and starch products; processing of animal feed and processing and bottling of mineral water.

Other products to manufacture include sugar, brewing and wine-making, processing of pulses, oil seeds or cereals, manufacture of macaroni/pasta products.

- Tannery and leather products. You may decide to venture in the tanning of hides and skins up to finished level; manufacturing of luggage items; handbags, saddle and harness items. There is also footwear. Ethiopia's footwear industry and leather sector in general enjoy significant international comparative advantages owing to the country's abundant and available raw materials, highly disciplined workforce and cheap prices. Ethiopia boasts the largest livestock production in Africa, and the 10th largest in the world. Ethiopia annually produces 2.7 million hides, 8.1 million sheepskins and 7.5 million goat skins. This comparative advantage is further underlined by the fact that the costs of raw hides and skins constitute on average 55-60% of the production of semi-processed leather.

Ethiopia's leather and leather product sector produce a range of products from semi-processed leather in various forms to processed leathers including shoe uppers, leather garments, stitched upholstery, backpacks, purses, industrial gloves and finished leather.

Ethiopian leather products have been exported to markets in Europe (especially Italy and the UK), America, Canada, China, Japan and other far eastern countries and the Middle East. Leather is also exported to African countries including Nigeria and Uganda.

- Glass and ceramics. This area includes tableware and sanitary ware, sheet glass and containers.

- Chemicals and chemical products. In this category is the manufacture of basic chemicals (including ethanol) using local raw materials which are plentiful. Other products that can be made in Ethiopia are fertilizer and nitrogen, soda ash, rubber, PVC granules from ethyl alcohol and caustic soda. We can add chlorine-based chemicals, carbon and activated carbon, precipitated calcium carbonate and ballpoint ink to the items already mentioned. Varnishes, soaps and detergents are other products easily manufactured in Ethiopia. There is a host of by-products from the chemical industry not forgetting pesticides and fungicides.

- Drugs and pharmaceuticals. This includes the manufacture of pharmaceutical medicinal, chemical and botanical products. These can come in the form of tablets, capsules, syrups and injectables

- Paper and paper products. Pulp from indigenous raw materials is readily available.

- Plastic products. Investors may choose to go into high pressure pipes or pipe fittings, shower hoods, wash basins, insulating fittings, light fittings, office and school supplies. The list is long.

- Building materials. There is room to invest in the making of lime, gypsum, marble, granite, limestone, ceramics, tubes, pipes and fittings. Amidst a building boom, you cannot go wrong going into this sector.

Less you have questions; the Ethiopian Investment Commission can guide you every step of the way. The services include;

- Promoting the country's investment opportunities and conditions to foreign and domestic investors;

- Issuing investment permits, business licenses and construction permits;

- Notarizing memorandum and articles of association and amendments;

- Issuing commercial registration certificates as well as renewals, amendments, replacements or cancellations;

- Effecting registration of trade or firm name and amendment, as well as replacements or cancellations;

- Issuing work permits, including renewals, replacements, suspensions or cancellations;

- Grading first grade construction contractors;

- Registering technology transfer agreements and export-oriented non-equity-based foreign enterprise collaborations with domestic investors;

- Negotiating and, upon government approval, signing bilateral investment promotion and protection treaties with other countries

- Advising the government on policy measures needed to create an attractive investment climate for investors

- Ethiopian Embassy in Uganda

East African Business Week (Kampala)
22 March 2015

more.....


Increasing power supply pumping a lifeblood into the industry sector : EEP
Details
Published Date
Written by DESTA GEBRE-HIWOT
Category: News


Misikir Negash



The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) said that as adequate electricity supply highly contributes to the crystallization of the sought-for leap that puts industrialization at the driver's seat and spur sustainable economic growth, the government over the lats two decades, has been making significant strides in bringing into play mega power generation projects to meet the pressing demand for electricity.

In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Press Agency, Ethiopian Electric Power External Public Relation Director Misikir Negash said that the country's consecutive economic growth has built the nation's capacity and confidence in carrying out mega power generation projects by its own. The country has been undertaking the translation of mega projects into action earmarking a huge amount of money to scale up the supply of electricity much needed for the growing industry sector.

The growing industry and ongoing economic development put much demand on electric power. To meet the demand, the country has launched 8 power generation projects during the last decades, Misikir added.

According to the Director the country is striving to further boost its power supply by five folds as per of GTP II. The construction of hydro-power dams and power distribution station projects has proceeded apace. Works in Gibe III are being undertaken round-the-clock to herald power generation by the end of this year. The construction work is almost 90.28 per cent through. The construction phase of Genale Dawa III project has hit the 71.83 per cent mark. The dam will have the capacity of 254 MW.

The Adama II Wind Farm Project is due to reach the 93 per cent mark with the previously installed turbines currently generating up to 45 MW per minute each. The construction of the GERD has also reached 42.54 per cent. When the envisaged dams see completion, the country will have adequate power supply for the industry sector.

Besides, the government is trying to ensure fair and equitable power distribution through its rural electrification programmes. Around 5300 urban and rural kebelles are now connected to the grid. The country has also manged to produce and supply 80 per cent of construction materials need for the mega projects avoiding importing costs. The coverage of electricity has also reached 55 per cent.

Through the power development projects, an average of 50,000 job opportunities have been created so far.

Having identified the source of power disruption in some areas, the government is making extensive efforts through different mechanism to address the disruptions.

Hailing the contribution of the public in realizing the mega projects, the Director called up on the people to press ahead backing up the construction of mega dams including GERD.

www.ethpress.gov.et/herald/index.php/herald/news/10668-increasing-power-supply-pumping-a-lifeblood-into-the-industry-sector-eep

AfroBlue:
more.....


Increasing power supply pumping a lifeblood into the industry sector : EEP
Details
Published Date
Written by DESTA GEBRE-HIWOT
Category: News


Misikir Negash



The Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) said that as adequate electricity supply highly contributes to the crystallization of the sought-for leap that puts industrialization at the driver's seat and spur sustainable economic growth, the government over the lats two decades, has been making significant strides in bringing into play mega power generation projects to meet the pressing demand for electricity.

In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Press Agency, Ethiopian Electric Power External Public Relation Director Misikir Negash said that the country's consecutive economic growth has built the nation's capacity and confidence in carrying out mega power generation projects by its own. The country has been undertaking the translation of mega projects into action earmarking a huge amount of money to scale up the supply of electricity much needed for the growing industry sector.

The growing industry and ongoing economic development put much demand on electric power. To meet the demand, the country has launched 8 power generation projects during the last decades, Misikir added.

According to the Director the country is striving to further boost its power supply by five folds as per of GTP II. The construction of hydro-power dams and power distribution station projects has proceeded apace. Works in Gibe III are being undertaken round-the-clock to herald power generation by the end of this year. The construction work is almost 90.28 per cent through. The construction phase of Genale Dawa III project has hit the 71.83 per cent mark. The dam will have the capacity of 254 MW.

The Adama II Wind Farm Project is due to reach the 93 per cent mark with the previously installed turbines currently generating up to 45 MW per minute each. The construction of the GERD has also reached 42.54 per cent. When the envisaged dams see completion, the country will have adequate power supply for the industry sector.

Besides, the government is trying to ensure fair and equitable power distribution through its rural electrification programmes. Around 5300 urban and rural kebelles are now connected to the grid. The country has also manged to produce and supply 80 per cent of construction materials need for the mega projects avoiding importing costs. The coverage of electricity has also reached 55 per cent.

Through the power development projects, an average of 50,000 job opportunities have been created so far.

Having identified the source of power disruption in some areas, the government is making extensive efforts through different mechanism to address the disruptions.

Hailing the contribution of the public in realizing the mega projects, the Director called up on the people to press ahead backing up the construction of mega dams including GERD.

www.ethpress.gov.et/herald/index.php/herald/news/10668-increasing-power-supply-pumping-a-lifeblood-into-the-industry-sector-eep

thanks, atleast there is smbdy in here who understands what am tryna say

Rivertemz:

Do you mean you live in south Africa.
And that's not a healthy mindset, what else would u rather be ??
I'm guessing you are young, Hope for a brighter future for Africa, because the older generation were slow and negative.
Don't carry the same negativity, no one else will respect Africans if we don't see the Good in our Land. Things will change.
Right now Nigeria is much better politically & economically compared to abt 40 years ago. And Ethiopia has never been colonized, but it has been isolated from the rest of the world, so things will change slowly.

Everything takes time. Many African countries only got independence 50 years ago. But places like America have been independent for hundreds of years. So don't think Africa has lost, when we have the richest resources in the world.
There will be a change. Love yourself, Love being Ethiopian, And be curious about other African cultures, don't be negative like other africans, Dream big my sister. God Bless

good advice

Ednite:

good advice

so what misconceptions do nairalanders have abt ethiopia?

Captainswag225:
so what misconceptions do nairalanders have abt ethiopia?

u have no idea hw sme of 'em offend us ethiopians. Jst read 'anybody in ethiopia or have never been there before' topic then u'll get what i mean, then tel me what u feel bout it

Ednite:

u have no idea hw sme of 'em offend us ethiopians. Jst read 'anybody in ethiopia or have never been there before' topic then u'll get what i mean, then tel me what u feel bout it

i cant find the topic!

Captainswag225:
i cant find the topic!

then look @ my posts n' you'll gt d topic

Ednite:
then look @ my posts n' you'll gt d topic

k , will do so

Ednite:

then look @ my posts n' you'll gt d topic

i just finished reading it, its very annoying... But u jux have to see those who made such comments as foõlish trolls... The fact that ethiopia has the au building over there and african leaders and obama visited there shows u how safe the place is.

Captainswag225:
i just finished reading it, its very annoying... But u jux have to see those who made such comments as foõlish trolls... The fact that ethiopia has the au building over there and african leaders and obama visited there shows u how safe the place is.

thank u sooo much, i mean, have thy ever tot au bldg n' obama will b in a desert? I mean, they aint farsighted

Ednite:

thank u sooo much, i mean, have thy ever tot au bldg n' obama will b in a desert? I mean, they aint farsighted

dont mind them, ur country is in the bible, it should them how wealthy the nation is..... Many people here are jux trolls. Dont mind them.

Captainswag225:
dont mind them, ur country is in the bible, it should them how wealthy the nation is..... Many people here are jux trolls. Dont mind them.

ur totaly rght,

Ednite:

hahahahahaha! Why do i even care bout what u've said? Lol, who r u? Plz open ur mouth sme where nt wiz me. Don't waste my time! Useless. . . U've gt no work to do? Poor u?!

You very funny, don't always mind everything the media says, educated people knows all that about Ethiopia aren't through, just like some people will rubbish my dear country NIGERIA also, but fact still remain there are good in every country

If you pay attention to the likes of the troll you quoted earlier you do just frustrate yourself#Peace.

haul:


You very funny, don't always mind everything the media says, educated people knows all that about Ethiopia aren't through, just like some people will rubbish my dear country NIGERIA also, but fact still remain there are good in every country

If you pay attention to the likes of the troll you quoted earlier you do just frustrate yourself#Peace.

peace

When ever I read someone calling Nigeria a great/largest economy I can't stop laughing. So far it is 80% dependent on oil and 80% of what it consume is been imported it is a very poor country. And there is one thing I will like to tell Nigerians and other black nations in the world so far Nigeria still exist we will remain slave the British because they created it.

Promises40:
When ever I read someone calling Nigeria a great/largest economy I can't stop laughing. So far it is 80% dependent on oil and 80% of what it consume is been imported it is a very poor country. And there is one thing I will like to tell Nigerians and other black nations in the world so far Nigeria still exist we will remain slave the British because they created it.

to be frank, ur totally right, i gt suprised whn thy undermine us. We have no port and oil. But look! Ethiopia have the biggest fastest growing economy in africa! We dnt believe that cud hold us back. Bt i dnt also wanna come n' tok abt our sucess, i jst want to be part of our sucess story. We have lot left undone! All of us!

Ednite:

to be frank, ur totally right, i gt suprised whn thy undermine us. We have no port and oil. But look! Ethiopia have the biggest fastest growing economy in africa! We dnt believe that cud hold us back. Bt i dnt also wanna come n' tok abt our sucess, i jst want to be part of our sucess story. We have lot left undone! All of us!

wish to be in addis ababa very soon

Ednite:

to be frank, ur totally right, i gt suprised whn thy undermine us. We have no port and oil. But look! Ethiopia have the biggest fastest growing economy in africa! We dnt believe that cud hold us back. Bt i dnt also wanna come n' tok abt our sucess, i jst want to be part of our sucess story. We have lot left undone! All of us!

ednite, where are u?

robosky02:


wish to be in addis ababa very soon

but, why ya say dat?

Learnt quite a lot from your posts @Ednite

Nice country Ethiopia

gbenson:
Learnt quite a lot from your posts @Ednite

Nice country Ethiopia

Wooow, very good then! I've been struggling a lot on tryna let ppl know my country have changed and changing atleast one's image is a big accomplishment.

Ednite:

but, why ya say dat?

yea to see the beautiful city and maybe meet you lol..

Ednite:

to be frank, ur totally right, i gt suprised whn thy undermine us. We have no port and oil. But look! Ethiopia have the biggest fastest growing economy in africa! We dnt believe that cud hold us back. Bt i dnt also wanna come n' tok abt our sucess, i jst want to be part of our sucess story. We have lot left undone! All of us!

Tell'em girl.. ያገሬ ልጅ ባትሆኝ ይቆጨኝ ነበር፡፡

.

Waltaw:

Tell'em girl.. ያገሬ ልጅ ባትሆኝ ይቆጨኝ ነበር፡፡

Let us make this thread fun, Ethiopia is an enjoyment. here are pics from the biggest street run in africa
THE GREAT ETHIOPIAN RUN, more than 40,000 participants

Hawassa and addis

Addis and bahirdar

nice

Ednite:
Addis and bahirdar