AFD concludes celebrations of 20th anniversary in Ethiopia

The French Development Agency (AFD) concluded its 20th anniversary celebrations it commenced this year through several activities. During an event organized at the French Embassy in Ethiopia, the Agency celebrated its many years working in Ethiopia along with invited guests and partners in the development sector.
“Today we are almost operating with offices in 100 countries and one of our footprints is to be able to work in each country with all the different partners, government and public and private enterprises, NGOs. We believe with all our range of financial instruments, we can have maximum impact of our activities,” said Ignace Monkam-Daverat, AFD’s regional director in Africa.
There has been an AFD agency in Ethiopia since 1997, but has been operating in the country since 1993. It operates through loans to the State, direct loans to State-owned companies and guarantees to facilitate access to financing. It focuses on the energy, water and urban development sectors, and also provides strong support to the private sector to boost growth and employment.
“We have been in Ethiopia for 20 years doing good things, we are here also to continue; AFD is a long term partner. We have three sectors of intervention: we are in urban development; urbanization is a challenge in Ethiopia and it will be a big challenge in the future so we are supporting the Addis Ababa municipality and also other towns,” Monkam-Daverat said.
He further said that access to renewable energy is another sector the agency works on in Ethiopia as it is a critical issue that is high on Ethiopia’s agenda. They also want to support the private sector for job creation and partnerships like the one we have with Ethiopian Airlines.
When it comes to urban development, AFD has several projects that include the first Bus Rapid Transit Lane in Addis Ababa and a public abattoir for the city, since 2010, the Agency has been accompanying the Addis Ababa municipality in its solid waste management policy. The Agency also co financed the first wind farm in Ashegoda near Mekele.