Diaspora Invests Billions in Local Economy

Ethiopians in the Diaspora and foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin have launched over six billion Birr investments this budget year, Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. Demeke Atnafu, Ethiopian Expatriate Affairs Acting Director General with the Ministry, revealed that the investors had already begun executing 625 projects in agriculture, construction, real estate development, energy, trade, hotel and tourism and other service delivery works. The undertakings, licensed in SNNP, Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and Addis Abeba, have so far created over 61,153 job opportunities, said Demeke.

Norway Donates 50b Br to Victims of Food Scarcity

Victims affected by food scarcity due to Belg rain failure will benefit from 50 million Br in humanitarian assistance rendered by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Embassy stated in a released statement, quoting Raymond Johansen, State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the government had allocated the stated sum in humanitarian assistance for people in drought-hit areas. The statement further revealed that the funding would be channeled through partners in the UN, the Red Cross and other NGOs that are already working in the country, and that are familiar with its needs. The donation is in addition to the 20 million Br granted in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) earlier this year, making its humanitarian contribution 90 million Br so far this year.

Livestock Export Exceeds Target,  Accruing $37m

More than 37 million dollars is obtained from the export of livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) revealed. Asefa Amaldegn, Marketing Expansion Expert with the Marketing Department of the Ministry, disclosed in a conference held in Adama (Nazareth) that the stated sum is earned from the sale of about 288,000 livestock in the world market. The expert said that the ministry has plans to accrue more than 70 million dollars in the upcoming budget year and has already   started a coordinated joint activity with pertinent organisations to realise its ambitious plan.

Ethiopia to Extract Coal Deposits

With an outlay of 700 million dollars, the Ethiopian government has finalized its preparations to extract a huge coal deposit in the Western region of Ethiopia, the Ministry of Trade and Industry disclosed. The minister, Girma Biru, revealed to Reuters that his ministry has signed an agreement with China National Complete Plant Import and Export Corporation to produce coal.  Ethiopia imports about 400,000 tonnes of fertilizer annually. However, due to the price increase of fertilizer, Ethiopia resorts to building a plant that produces the commodity. The minister further stipulated that the Ethiopian government plans to produce 300,000 tonnes of urea, 20,000 tonnes of methanol, and 90 mega watts of electric power, exploiting the coal deposit.

Computer Assembly Plant for Gondar

With an outlay of 10 million Br, an Ethiopian entrepreneur is to establish a Personal Computer (PC) assembly in Gondar, Amhara State. Yemane Kokebe (PhD), an Ethiopian Diaspora residing in Holland, said that the assembly will be set up on the Polytechnic University campus and will be begin production as of the second half of the upcoming year. Alongside selling PCs and accessories to customers, the assembly will also provide maintenance services said Yemane. Explaining further, he said that his establishment would work closely with a Holland based university to launch a Technological Research Institute in Gondar and extend its IT service all over the country.

Laforge to Invest $350m in Cement Factory

Laforge, a France-based and globally the largest cement producer, is on the verge of finalising preparations to set up a cement factory in Ethiopia, with an initial investment of 350 million Euros. The company has already obtained an exploration site where it extracts essential input resources for the production of cement. After Securing the mining site, which is believed to be endowed with abundant raw materials, the company proposed the  provision of the plant site to  officials of the Oromia Regional Administration. A senior official from the administration confirmed that what remained was to provide the company with a site where it could build the cement plant. Laforge is currently operating in 17 African countries and around the world, including the UK and India.