EU companies invest over 60 bln birr in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, March 29, 2017 (FBC) -The European Union Business Forum in Ethiopia (EUBFE) celebrated its official launching yesterday, following its formal registration as ‘Foreign Investors Association’ under Ethiopian law.

The registration will facilitate the work towards achieving EUBFE’s main mission: to improve the business environment in Ethiopia in order to enhance commercial and economic ties between the EU and Ethiopia.

The EUBFE was initially established in 2012, with the support of the EU Delegation to Ethiopia, in response to the need for a sustained dialogue between the EU business community and the Ethiopian authorities and a platform for networking and information-sharing between EU businesses.

Over the past five years, the EUBFE has become a respected unified platform of EU investors in Ethiopia, an excellent source of information for existing and potential EU investors, and has become increasingly engaged in an open and constructive dialogue with the Ethiopian government on systemic issues affecting the business climate in the country

Ethiopia has ambitious economic and social development targets. The EUBFE wishes to actively support and contribute to the country’s development Endeavour by bringing in and expanding high quality investments from EU companies and individuals, therefore creating jobs, transferring knowledge, earning foreign exchange and accelerating growth.

EU companies have already invested in excess of 60billion birr in Ethiopia since the 1960’s, creating more than 520,000 jobs.

Today, the EU is the second largest trade partner for Ethiopia and remains the most important destination of Ethiopia’s exports, according to a press release EU delegation to African Union (AU) sent to FBC.