VEGA Co-Sponsors Forum for Ethiopian Diaspora
Investors and Entrepreneurs

The Third Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum, organized by The Ethiopian American magazine and Precise Consult International PLC, took place on July 12 in Washington, DC and attracted close to 300 attendees.

The purpose of the forum was to tap into the investors and entrepreneurs of the second most populous African nation’s large Diaspora community.

The Ethiopian Diaspora sends hundreds of millions of dollars in remittances to their mother country every year, and the two panels of officials and academics at the forum stressed that the Ethiopian Diaspora could make rewarding contributions by investing in burgeoning industries back home and strengthening the Ethiopian economy.

“Supporting your country is going to be best done in a sustainable way by creating employment opportunities,” said Ato Henok Assefa, M.A.,Managing Partner for Precise Consult International PLC.

Ethiopia’s export sector has long been dominated by coffee, however it has recently made room for other flourishing industries such as textiles and honey.

The growth of the export sector has largely been aided by the success of the ongoing federal African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). AGOA has eased trade regulations for countries such as Ethiopia that do not have a Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

During 2005, In order to help Ethiopian businesses take advantage of the unilateral trade preference under AGOA and become globally competitive, USAID funded the VEGA AGOA+ project in Ethiopia.

The mission of the VEGA AGOA+ project, implemented by VEGA member organization International Executive Service Corps (IESC) is to equip Ethiopian entrepreneurs with necessary skills to take advantage of the various economic opportunities that AGOA provides. VEGA AGOA+ serves to encourage exports and support broad-based economic growth. AGOA related initiatives have facilitated development for various industries such as cut flowers, honey, textiles, and other non-oil goods. With double digit GDP growth over the past four years, Ethiopia has been categorized as the fastest growing non-oil economy in Africa.

Although Ethiopia has experienced recent economic successes, it still faces the challenge of improving its image in the global business environment. According to Addis Alemayehou, the VEGA AGOA+ Chief of Party, Diaspora investors can serve not only as agents for the growth of Ethiopia’s private sector, but also as facilitators for the nation’s re-branding.

But despite the challenges, panelists were hopeful about Ethiopia’s economic future. One of the added benefits of the conference was that it brought together men and women of the Diaspora with an expressed desire to invest. Noting this opportunity for partnership, Alemayehou encouraged the attendees to work together on their endeavors in Ethiopia. “Individually you can’t go far. Ethiopia’s a hard place to do business,” he said, “you need to work in teams.”

Use this link to watch a video clip of the forum:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeQb4ZKvER4