American Leather Manufacturer Lands Space in Capital

Oct 1 , 2022


[ssba-buttons]

Parker Clay Plc has inaugurated a leather products manufacturing facility in Addis Abeba Industrial Village. The development comes two months after the company received a 1,150sqm plot in the Village from the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC). The US-based firm retails leather products made in Ethiopia. It started operations a few years ago with a small space and a few employees. It has since seen its workforce grow to more than 200, 80pc of whom are women. The company retails leather bags for as much as 350 dollars on its website. The inauguration comes as the leather industry continues to underperform. Exports from finished leather goods plunged 72pc in 2020/21 from three years prior. Though no figures are yet available for the most recent performance, the export of leather goods accounted for a tiny fraction of revenues.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...