
It should have been easy. The manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP is insignificant, although it is a high productivity area that can boost Ethiopia’s foreign currency earnings. But the sector with the highest share to GDP is agriculture, which is a low productivity area and is easily susceptible to nature’s vagaries and the global fluctuations in commodity prices. Thus, the answer should be to pour money into the manufacturing sector, improve infrastructure significantly and market the nation’s low labour costs as a means of attracting foreign direct investments.
Tax incentives, around a dozen industrial parks and a plethora of Turkish, Indian and Chinese investors later, the outcome has been far from impressive. It stood at 6.8pc in the 2018/19 fiscal year, a snail pace Of 4.9pc at the start of the decade. But long-planned projects have gradually come online, and it is yet to be seen if these will end with improved manufacturing output.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 05,2020 [ VOL
20 , NO
1028]
Radar | Aug 10,2025
Radar | Nov 16,2019
Fortune News | Apr 03,2021
Radar | Nov 05,2022
Fortune News | Sep 22,2024
Viewpoints | Aug 03,2019
Fortune News | Nov 13,2021
Fortune News | Dec 23,2023
Addis Fortune | May 04,2024
Featured | Sep 23,2023
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Oct 4 , 2025
Eyob Tekalegn (PhD) had been in the Governor's chair for only weeks when, on Septembe...
Sep 27 , 2025
Four years into an experiment with “shock therapy” in education, the national moo...
Sep 20 , 2025
Getachew Reda's return to the national stage was always going to stir attention. Once...
Sep 13 , 2025
At its launch in Nairobi two years ago, the Africa Climate Summit was billed as the f...