AfDB to host private sector development forum on Ethiopia’s economy

14 November, 2008

APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Friday preparations to hold a major private sector development forum on Ethiopia’s economy on 24 November under the theme “Financing Ethiopia’s Continued Growth”.

The Bank is organising the forum in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), a release from the Bank revealed in Addis.

The forum aims at supporting and promoting the private sector’s contribution to financing Ethiopia’s continued growth.

It seeks to jointly explore ways in which further private and public-private investments can support Ethiopia’s continued growth.

Ethiopia is among countries in Africa, which has been registering a double-digit economic growth in the past five- years.

The AfDB is one of Ethiopia’s development partners, which is supporting the country development activities with million US dollars of loans and grants.

The Bank indicated that the up-coming forum also aims at sensitising Ethiopian entrepreneurs, development partners, and Government leaders on how to utilize the AfDB’s private sector window.

The Ethiopia’s historical five-year double digit economic growthencouraged the AfDB to explore new ways in which it can support the sustainability of these economic gains via its private sector financing window, said AfDB.

There is a need, at this time, to explore creative means of financing infrastructure development which include public-private partnerships, increased domestic private sector participation, and foreign investment, it concluded.