Raw Materials Shortage Remains a Challenge: Report

Sep 27 , 2020


[ssba-buttons]

A new report that was unveiled by the Federal Small & Medium Scale Manufacturing Development Agency shows that 43pc of operational industries face shortages of raw materials. The assessment also shows that 20pc and 16pc of the industries face a lack of space for production and access to finance, respectively. The Agency's assessment covered 82 companies from the 10 districts in the capital and seven towns in Oromia Regional State. About 19 public offices were also included in the assessment, which was made on industries that are operational and are in the establishment process. Out of new industries that are in the pre-operational stage, 38pc of them face issues getting space for production, while 18pc and 15pc face a shortage of electric supply and access to finance, respectively.


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...