Ethiopian Diaspora Business convens

By Christopher Ogwanglia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- The Ethiopian Diaspora Business Conference was held in Addis Ababa on Wednesday of this week bringing together foreign intellectuals and Ethiopian Diaspora groups who have come up with the intention of investing in different sectors back at home in Ethiopia.

This first Annual Ethiopian Business Diaspora conference was organized by Precise Consult International (PCI) was opened by Tadesse Haile, Ethiopian state Minister for Trade and Economy welcomed all Ethiopians who have come to celebrate the Ethiopian Millennium. He said that Ethiopians who have decided to come back home and invest in their own country are most welcome. The minister said that his government support and has put investment as their first strategy, because investment is a means to poverty reduction and investment is a tool for growth which would improve infrastructures highly required as process of reform.

According to the minister the Ethiopia national economy has risen up with more than 20%, so Ethiopians need more investment and business, this required not only capital, but also people with know-how in different fields is highly needed to participate in your own economy. The minister assured the participants that would be ready to support and listen to investors and share the reqired ideas. So he urged all to get involve to develop Ethiopian economy to reduced poverty.

Mr. Henok Assefa, managing partner for PCI Director said the objectives of the conference was to bring awareness for investing in and importation of different products from Ethiopia where the Diaspora community would be able to benefit from all different kinds of opportunities that exists in the country.

Result of Ethiopian Investment Climate Survey, from 2002, 427 firms have developed providing primary manufacturing I area of Amhara, Oromia, the Southern Nations Nationalities and People (SNNP).
Mr. Abi Weldemichael, Ethiopian Investment Agency, said that with the Ethiopian population of 80 million, investment opportunity in agriculture is paramount in area of food crops, oil crop, beverages, horticulture, livestock which Ethiopia leads in Africa and 10th in the world.

Interestingly, there are more potential in other sectors of the global Ethiopian investor. Many IT Diaspora professionals have been focusing on the prospects of setting up outsourcing fits in Addis Ababa where the main obstacle remained the national telecommunications monopoly. The change in the telecommunication system network linking cables with neighbors would significantly improve the Ethiopian economy to make multi million dollars outsourcing industries.

In addition to others, there is no natural reason why an organic Ethiopian coffee brand should not come to be a major player in the world coffee market. This know-how and capital already existed in the Diaspora as well as in Ethiopia. This can be done by selling special Ethiopian coffee to the US $ billion Diaspora market online and recruiting Ethiopians abroad as sales agent to expand and promote the economy to foreign markets. With all this combined with the branding effort the Ethiopian government is undertaking for specialty and quality Ethiopian coffee, It is not inconceivable that we may see Yirgacheffe coffee placed right next to Blue mountain on supermarket shelves in North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.

This situation has made the Ethiopian Diaspora to realize the potentially large business opportunities in the fast growing economy in the home country, in that highly qualified professionals with capital are crossing over to set up globally competitive businesses in Ethiopia.

PCI is a premiere consultancy specializing in trade promotion, business management, and private sector development at international as well as on the ground in Ethiopia. The conference was organized by Precise Consult International groups with the financial support from the World Bank, the Netherlands Embassy, and USAID VEGA Ethiopia AGOA.