DAO FEI

Can Ethiopia be Africa’s leading manufacturing hub?

With Ethiopia having the second biggest population in Africa, it is under growing pressure to tackle unemployment. The BBC’s Alastair Leithead visited the country to find out how it is tackling the problem. Hawassa Industrial Park, claimed to be the biggest in Africa, is 140 hectares (350 acres) of factories, with a water treatment plant and its own textile mill. Six months after opening in southern Ethiopia, 10,000 people already work here, and at full capacity it is expected to provide 60,000 jobs. “The pay isn’t great,” says one 20-year-old, who trained for six months to sew and cut. “But it’s not just about money. Opportunities are being created for people like me across the country.”

“Population growth…is not only a challenge, but also an opportunity…if it’s linked with quite rapid economic growth.”” We can learn from China that making investment in the long-term, in infrastructure, is quite important. We have seen China emerge from low level, into being a manufacturing powerhouse,” said Mr Arkebe.-BBC/

Share This Articles