Council of Ministers Approves $1B Loan Agreement

Jul 3 , 2021

The Council of Ministers has approved four loan agreements worth 1.1 billion dollars. The loans are being provided by the International Development Association with a repayment period of 38 years and no interest, where the institution only takes 0.75pc as a service charge. The funding is to be funneled into four projects. The first is the expansion of access to electricity, particularly to increase power supply to rural residents, social welfare institutions, and enterprises, with a budget of 500 million dollars. The second project, with a budget of 250 million dollars, focuses on improving the provision of basic services and strengthening systems of accountability. An initiative to be implemented by the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) aiming to strengthen the financial capacity of small and medium enterprises with a budget of 180 million dollars is the third project. The fourth is expected to go towards enhancing the digital economy and digitising government services with a budget of 130 million dollars.