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11 August, 2007
The first annual Ethiopian Diaspora Business conference will, on the coming September, take place in Addis Ababa.
Organized with the financial support of the World Bank and USAID, the conference is scheduled to be held on September 19, 2007 at the UNECA, Precise Consult International (PCI), a consultancy company which will execute the project, disclosed to The Reporter in a statement.
The conference aims to make a business case for investing in Ethiopia and
illustrate exactly how the Diaspora community can benefit from the investment
opportunities existing in the country, according to the company’s statement
sent to The Reporter.
The conference is divided along two main themes, with expert panels to discuss
the prevailing business conditions in Ethiopia and a mini-information/products
tradeshow.
The first theme is aimed at de-mystifying the process of doing business in
Ethiopia.
“With a legacy of communism and a history of a bureaucratic regulatory culture tarnishing the image of the Ethiopian business environment, few are aware of the significant improvements achieved over the past few years. Even fewer are bold enough to venture in and find out what it takes to invest in Ethiopia,” said PCT. “There appears to be a gap between the perception and reality of doing business in Ethiopia. Key issues such as investment process, land acquisition, finance, etc. will be discussed based on the experiences of a panel of successful Diaspora investors at the conference.”
The second theme of the conference will focus on the investment opportunities and incentives that exist on the ground in Ethiopia, according to PCI.
“With an economy expanding in double digits per annum, exports growing at almost 30% per year and a fast improving investment environment, Ethiopia now offers the prospect of high returns in many sectors,” CPI’s statement read. “This panel will discuss where some of these high potential sectors lie and showcase concrete opportunities for investment.”
The panel will also discuss emerging opportunities for the Diaspora to link with local producers and import Ethiopian products into their adopted home countries.
“We hope that this conference will provide profound insights into the possibilities of doing business in Ethiopia and also create export linkages with local, export ready producers and members of the Diaspora community,” PCI’s Managing Partner Henok Assefa said.
“At a time when global competitiveness decides the fate of nations, some of the capital, world class know-how, and market access necessary for the survival of the Ethiopian nation can be provided by the Diaspora,” PCI’s statement read. “Crude calculations using remittance figures (USD 1.1 billion in the first 9 months of 2006/07 alone) show that the Gross income of Ethiopians in the Diaspora is in the range of 10-20 billion USD per annum, roughly equal to the home country’s GDP of 13 billion USD in 2006.”
In addition to the large amount of money entering the country as remittance by the Diaspora, direct investment over recent years has run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to PCI’s statement. “While still at a nascent stage, export opportunities facilitated by the Diaspora are starting to make an impact using the duty free and quota free access Ethiopia enjoys to the United States and European markets. However, given the potential that exists, these numbers are only indicative of this important group’s possible contribution to the Ethiopian development agenda in the form of investment (FDI), business partnerships, advisory services to local businesses, and participation in the local debate on improving the investment climate,” PCI’s said.
PCI specializes in trade promotion, business management, and private sector development in Ethiopia.
By Hayal Alemayehu - Ethiopian Reporter