The Ethiopian government is setting focus on improving the ease of doing business in Ethiopia to make the country competitive in the international arena, Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) said.
Lelise Neme, Ethiopian Investment Commission Commissioner has recently said that over the years, the government has been undertaking various activities to improve the ease of doing business in Ethiopia.
This year, it is one of the top priority areas of the government to create a conducive investment environment.
One of the strategies to improve the ease of doing business is the digitalization of the Commission’s working systems which is well underway, as to her. Secondly, efforts are underway to strengthen relationships with states’ and city administrations’ investment bodies by organizing a series of forums that will help to facilitate investment and ease of doing business nationally.
The government is currently tirelessly working with a view to improving the ease of doing business in the nation focusing mainly on 10 indicators, such as starting business, dealing with construction permit, getting credit, getting electricity, registration property, paying tax, trade across boarder and protecting minority investors, among others, it was learnt.
“As part of this, fifty percent of our work time is spent visiting investment areas and solving their problems on the spot,” she added. “Our goal is not only to attract investment but also to create a favourable investment environment for the investors to become productive and successful.”
In the meantime, she said giant companies in industrial parks have a responsibility to create market and input supply linkage for local, small and medium enterprises.
She also said the Commission is looking into solving the problems of employees working in industrial parks who among others complain about incentive packages. Efforts are underway to solve their main challenges especially shortage of housing in partnership with investors and public-private engagement.
While houses are built for almost 4,000 employees working in Bole Lemi Industrial Park, similar initiatives are there in Adama, Dire Dawa and Hawassa industrial park, she stated.
During this challenging time, industrial parks have helped the country meet the demand for Personal Protective Equipment’s (PPE) by shifting their operations.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Ethiopian Airlines, the Commission has also played a major role in facilitating efficient import and export of goods and services.
The government has also come up with various incentives to support industries which are not back to normal situation after COVID-19 pandemic posed a huge threat.
Source: The Ethiopian Herald
