Addis Ababa April 29/2023 (ENA)Canadian and Indian investors who have been on business travel to Ethiopia told ENA that they are keen to invest in the agricultural sector.
The Canada-based BTE Ltd company Vice President, Moataz Elshafei told ENA that he is visiting Ethiopia for the first time and was glad that he attended the Invest Ethiopia 2023 Forum in the capital city.
“We invest in various parts of the world and also represent a group of investors. In this trip we are representing a group of Middle East investors interested to come and invest in Ethiopia in the agriculture and agro-processing sector,” he added.
Elshafei revealed that he has already made contacts and plans to have another trip to closely explore investment opportunities.
“I see that Ethiopia has been growing over the years and it is one of the growing and strongest (countries) in Africa and well reorganized all over the world. This event is evidence that it is attracting investors from all over the world.”
The vice president stated that when he goes back to Canada he will hold discussions with colleagues and officials over there. “If Canada doesn’t have strong presence in Ethiopia, definitely I will be an advocate for the Ethiopian government to encourage Canadians to come here.”
According to him, Ethiopian officials are welcoming investors and trying their best to open doors for them.
“I would like to thank them from what I see that they are very welcoming and friendly in all levels and encouraging me to come again and again to make my dreams a reality — to invest in Ethiopia.”
India-Africa Trade Council Coordinator, Babu Parameswaran said on his part he feels that in Africa, especially in Ethiopia, exploration for natural resources and agriculture sector is coming.
For the agriculture sector, we have a proposal to discuss with the Ethiopian Investment Commission. That is where we can do a lot of possibilities in Ethiopia, he stated.
Parameswaran pointed out that he is coordinating some investors from India and Middle East in the field of mining and especially in the agriculture sector.
“We are very much interested to cooperate with the companies and the Government of Ethiopia and we will bring a lot of investors to explore the possibilities in Africa, especially in Ethiopia.”
According to him, “the agriculture sector (in Ethiopia) is growing now. There are a lot of chances to export products to Middle East and other countries. We also like to import pulse items from Ethiopia to India, and a lot of demand is there.”
The climate is good for agriculture and the government is very much active in attracting investors; and I feel that the circumstance is also good.
In Ethiopia electricity and manpower is very cheap, and there is no scarcity of land and water, he noted.
“I know some Indian investors doing agriculture in Ethiopia, and they are very eager to expand their project and looking for other areas of investment,” the coordinator noted.
The international investment forum, Invest Ethiopia 2023, which concluded on Friday has brought together investors, business leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs from around the world to enable them explore and unlock investment opportunities in Ethiopia.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency