Toothpaste Factory Perches in Dukem

Mar 30 , 2019


[ssba-buttons]

Unilever inaugurated its fourth factory in Ethiopia on March 28, 2019, at the eastern industrial zone in Dukem to manufacture Signal brand toothpaste. Lifebuoy soap, Sunlight detergent and Knorr Bouillon cubes are branded products manufactured by Unilever’s factories. The factory is the first of its kind in Ethiopia and only the third in Africa. “The toothpaste factory is a nine-month project, and the machines came from Sweden and China,” said Tim Kleinebenne, managing director of Unilever Ethiopia. Unilever has 13 million euros worth of investments in Ethiopia and employees 1,500 direct and indirect employees with only ten of them as non-nationals. Alongside Tim Kleinebenne, the inauguration ceremony was attended by Lia Tadesse (MD), state minister of Health; Hana Arayasillase, deputy commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission; Bruno Witvoet, Unilever Africa president; and Gizachew Mijena, deputy mayor of Dukem’s administration.      


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...