Category: Market

Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) announced that coffee exports have brought 835.2 million US dollars to the country in revenue during the nine months of the current fiscal year that started on 8th July 2023.

According to the Deputy Director-General of ECTA, Shafi Umer, the nation exported 174,596 tons of coffee to the international market during the stated period.

Shafi indicated that the income has marked a notable increase as compared with the previous Ethiopian fiscal year same period.

Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United States, Germany, Japan and China have been the major destinations of the East African nation’s coffee products, it was learned.

The Deputy Director-General figured out that the Ethiopian coffee industry achieved a significant milestone as it has been generating billions of dollars in revenue following the nation’s rigorous reform in the sector.

For instance, the country obtained over 1.3 billion USD from coffee exports during the past Ethiopian fiscal year.

He
added a total of 1.75 billion USD is anticipated to be obtained from coffee export at the end of this concluding Ethiopian fiscal year.

Shafi further stated that in addition to the existing destinations for coffee export, Ethiopia has been diversifying its international market over the nine months.

In this regard, he indicated that a number of new countries have been joining the top 10 clubs of Ethiopian coffee buyers.

While the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and China were previously buying Ethiopian coffee, they were not ranked among top 1o Ethiopian coffee buyers.

Moreover, Shafi said that tremendous reforms are being made in coffee production and value as well as market chains to achieve better results.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: On the occasion of the Easter holiday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hosted a luncheon for employees working on the Chaka project.

The premier extended Easter holiday best wish to the employees of the project on the occasion, Office of the Prime Minister indicated.

Ethiopian Easter, or Fasika as it is known locally, has been observed by Christians across the country today.

Easter is celebrated to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Aviation University is equipping people with the right knowledge at the highest technology level to avail sufficient number of people for Ethiopian Airlines and other airlines in Africa countries, University Acting President Kassie Yimam said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Acting President of Ethiopian Aviation University Kassie Yimam said there is a huge human resources gap in the aviation industry in Africa like pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, aircraft maintenance engineers, aviation management.

That’s why Africa lags behind the rest of the world in terms of airline performance, aviation, manufacturing, operation, maintenance among others, he elaborated.

To this end, the Ethiopian Aviation University is established to cater qualified people in these fields in sufficient numbers.

The University has now been providing training and education for Ethiopian Airlines and African countries in different aviation professions.

‘We are providing competent qualified professio
nals in piloting, in aircraft maintenance, engineering, cabin crew and customer service agents.’

Global forecasters indicate that there is a very huge gap in trend demand power, especially in Africa, Kassie indicated.

Moreover, he elaborated that the Ethiopian Aviation University is making efforts to fill this gap.

‘The aviation technology service industry is growing at a very fast rate in terms of technology. To go along with the technological developments across the aviation industry in the globe, we have started our degree programs, master’s programs, especially in data science, AI, virtual reality, and so on.’

African human capital can maintain at least the manufactured airplanes, he said, adding ‘we have to start producing essential components for airlines operations.’

Therefore, the university is in line with this vision of equipping people with the right knowledge at the highest technology level to avail sufficient number of people for Ethiopian Airlines as well as the rest of Africa.

Moreover, h
e illustrated that the university has built its capacity, facilities so that it can cater training services for Ethiopian Airlines as well as for other African training centers, organizations, airlines, MROs, pilots, technicians, maintenance engineers.

The over six decades old, the Ethiopian Aviation University, the former Academy, is a world class Aviation Training Center equipped with state of the art and best in class training equipment and technology.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: A National E-commerce Strategy validation workshop is underway in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh.

The workshop brought together other high-level government officials including Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, Gebremeskel Chala, Innovation and Technology Minister, Belete Molla and others.

Speaking at the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen stressed the need for intensifying digital technologies in all sectors to bring economic transformation in the country.

As Ethiopia’s digital economy carries tremendous promise in unlocking unprecedented growth, the East African nation stands at the precipice of a digital revolution to reshape its economy.The deputy prime minister said over the past few years, the government has been working to create favorable conditions for ensuring digitalization.

He added that by giving due attention to development of the ICT sector various activities have been done with a view of creating jobs, earning foreign exchange and encoura
ging startups.

He further underscored that the main objective of this National E-commerce Strategy is to execute national projects, sustainable economic growth and enhance competitiveness.

The strategy would help to bring about a new trade system, he said, emphasizing the need to ensure safety and security of e-commerce by formulating a legal framework that hindered the sector.

Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, Gebremeskel Chala on his part said the strategy is part of Ethiopia’s digital transformation and it is expected to modernize local markets and help to commerce all over the world through digital platforms.

The National E-commerce Strategy is prepared after assessing national and international trends, he pointed out.

After gathering adequate inputs from stakeholders and to enrich the document, the strategy will be approved by the Council of Ministers.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: The Global Market Access Programme (GMAP) in Ethiopia announced the significant progresses in strengthening the quality compliance capacity of the honey value chain for enhanced market access.

The GMAP in Ethiopia aims at ensuring compliance with international standards, improving honey products quality, facilitating business linkages, and sustaining project results throughout the honey value chain.

Over the past six months, the project has achieved remarkable milestones.

In this regard, a Business Agreements Signing ceremony, as well as the Handing-over of Beekeepers accessories took place in Jimma, Oromia Regional State.

The Business Agreements signing ceremony marked a pivotal moment in the project’s implementation journey.

Notably, agreements for nearly 90 tons of quality honey and beeswax, for exporting to the international market, were signed between three processors and beekeepers’ community in Gera woreda (Jimma zone), underscoring the tangible outcomes of collaborative efforts.

Fur
thermore, the handing-over of beekeeper’s accessories highlighted the commitment to further empower Ethiopia’s beekeeping community.

Following intensive training sessions, essential beekeeping accessories have been procured and distributed to the lead beekeepers from the Jimma, Illubabor, and Bedele zones, demonstrating tangible support for sustainable quality beekeeping practices.

UNIDO Regional Hub in Ethiopia, Aurelia Patrizia Calabrò said the Global Market Access Programme in Ethiopia is a great example of the impactful collaboration between UNIDO and local stakeholders.

‘We are very happy to witness these positive transformations within the honey value chain, paving the way for sustainable economic growth and enhanced market access’.

The GMAP project remains committed to driving positive changes within the honey value chain in Ethiopia.

State Minister of Agriculture, Fikru Regassa said on his part the GMAP Ethiopia project is actively collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry o
f Trade and Regional Integration to promote a sustainable honey-producing industry.

The project has been launched at the right time and is aligned with the government’s overarching objectives, prioritizing environmentally responsible practices that benefit both communities and the environment, he added.

Administrator of Jimma Zone, Yusuf Sharo expressed profound optimism as he unveiled the remarkable growth trajectory of the region’s honey exports.

From 15 tons in 2023 to an astounding 90 tons in the first two quarters of 2024, the honey of Jimma Zone flows forth, a testament to the resilience and the boundless potential of the land, he added.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Ethiopia’s resilience amidst challenges is evident through structural economic reforms, prioritizing macro stability and productivity.

Addressing the IDA21 Africa Heads of State Summit in Nairobi, Abiy said Ethiopia has been harnessing resilience in the face of a spectrum of challenges aggravated by external forces, such as climate change, geopolitical tension, and the soaring global cost of living.

‘The Ethiopia government has navigated structural, macro-economic reforms, amid challenges focusing our attention on macro financial stability, productivity enhancement, and favorable investment environment,’the premier stated.

Like many IDA countries, Ethiopia faces unemployment and skill gap challenges, he said, adding with the government privatizing accessible education to empower citizens while encouraging youth engagement in startups across various fields, according to Abiy.

Investment in skills and education is central to Ethiopia’s 10 year development plan wit
h a focus on sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism, expected to cover over 2 million new jobs.

On other hand, Prime Minister Abiy added that universal energy access stands as a cornerstone for sustainable development.

‘We are massively investing on clean and renewable energy generation projects, which aims to accelerate universal access to affordable and reliable energy for all our people.’

The digitalization of economies has immense potential to enhance connectivity, spur innovation, and expand access to essential services, he said.

In Ethiopia, our telecom sector liberalization, mobile money and digital payment system have expanded financial access in the country.

On other hand, Abiy elaborated that the Horn of Africa faces escalating threats from climate change, including rising temperature, food insecurity, and extreme weather events.

Ethiopia is actively countering this challenge through its Green Legacy Initiative, privatizing afforestation, reforestation and environmental conservat
ion with over 32.5 billion seedlings planted towards a goal of 50 billion in two phases.

Ethiopia aligns with global agreements like the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

While the international development Association’s existing support must be commended, he said, adding the sheer scale for the challenges facing many African countries necessitate a renewed approach.

‘We urge IDA to significantly enhance its financial capacity and funding models, specifically increased support for crisis, preparedness, response and recovery is essential,’ he underlined.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

WINDHOEK: The Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT) has embarked on setting up infrastructure for informal traders.

Addressing micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) owners of the Moses ||Garoeb Constituency in Windhoek on Saturday, Minister of Industrialisation and Trade Lucia Iipumbu said the ministry has identified the need to upgrade and develop infrastructure of MSMEs and has budgeted N.dollars 4 million under the current financial year towards the Informal Economic Traders Platform Infrastructure Development programme.

She said MSMEs makes up 40 per cent of the country’s traders and therefore the ministry has committed towards budgeting for the upgrading of informal trader economic hubs.

‘We think we have done enough with industrial and SME parks, our focus now is on informal traders. We see many people are selling their products on the margins of the street and many of you are street vendors. So our focus is that each financial year we at least envisioned to give three main informal trad
ers space,’ she said.

She indicated that through the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) a total of 46 industrial and SME parks were constructed across the country.

Iipumbu further explained that the programme is done in collaboration with local authorities, noting that under the current financial year, infrastructure development will commence in Okalongo in the Omusati Region, Mariental in the Hardap Region and Henties Bay in the Erongo Region.

She explained a ministerial tour in City of Windhoek’s informal settlements during the COVID-19 era in 2020 identified that about 19 informal economic hubs need infrastructure development.

Also, she noted the ministry has the Industrial Upgrading and Modernisation Programme (IUMP) that offers free training on behavioural change, finance and equally assists traders with equipment between N.dollars 50 000 and N.dollars 400 000.

‘Everybody needs training, even you selling fatcakes. We came to realise that we need to train you on how to manage your finances.
We don’t want you to continue selling 20 fatcakes a day which will gain you a profit that is only enough for you to buy a 1kg maize bag, we want you to grow and think in terms of growth,’ she said.

Iipumbu also indicated that the ministry has revived in 2023 the Equipment Aid Scheme which was halted since 2016 due to budgetary constraints, which supports MSME owners with start-up equipment.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency