A business group is looking to acquire an industrial property near Addis Ababa with the following requirements:
• Land area: 20,000 sqm- 80,000 sqm (5–20 acres)
• Electricity connection available
• Shed / Warehouse with 5–20 ton crane capacity
• Office building/ staff housing
Interested parties are requested to share their proposal at:
Email: ethiopiaproject8@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 8130994522 (WhatsApp)
African governments, exporters and business leaders are preparing for a potential shift in the continent’s trade relations as the temporary extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) approaches expiration in December 2026.
The development comes as African economies navigate changes in global trade, expanding digital markets, new offshore energy discoveries, critical-minerals diplomacy and rapid urbanization.
The implications of AGOA’s expiry are expected to be discussed at the Financial Times’ 13th annual Africa Summit, scheduled for October 21–22, 2026, at The Landmark in London.
The summit will be held under the theme “Mobilising Growth in a New Global Order” and will bring together African heads of state, government officials, investors, corporate executives and entrepreneurs.
AGOA provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with preferential access to the United States market for thousands of products. Its possible expiration has increased pressure on African countries to diversify export markets, strengthen regional trade and reduce dependence on preferential arrangements.
The summit is expected to examine how governments and businesses can respond to shifting US tariff policies and changes in longstanding trade relationships.
Among the speakers scheduled to attend are Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote, former Senegalese President Macky Sall, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, United Kingdom Minister of State for International Development and Africa Baroness Jennifer Chapman, Nigerian Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele and Ethiopian Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide.
The agenda will focus on geopolitics, cross-border finance, energy transition, infrastructure development, technology and investment.
A new economic assessment recommends that Djibouti implement tighter debt controls, strengthen state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and improve domestic revenue collection to sustain its infrastructure-led growth.
The Investment Bank of Africa (IBA) describes Djibouti as a strategically vital gateway for Red Sea trade and commerce linked to Ethiopia. However, the bank warns that years of significant infrastructure investment have increased the nation’s debt exposure and reduced the government’s fiscal flexibility.
Public debt reached approximately 64 percent of GDP in 2025, according to the assessment. Citing IMF projections, the report indicates that the debt ratio is expected to decrease from 67.2 percent in 2025 to 62.3 percent in 2026, and further to 38.5 percent by 2030.
Despite this projected improvement, debt sustainability remains a primary concern. The report notes that both the IMF and the African Development Bank have called for ongoing debt reduction, SOE reform, and engagement with creditors.
IBA suggests broadening Djibouti’s domestic revenue base by standardizing tax exemptions and enhancing VAT collection. It also recommends allocating additional revenues towards debt servicing and essential social infrastructure.
State-owned enterprises are another significant concern. The report advises implementing enforceable dividend policies, strengthening financial disclosure, and setting debt ceilings for profitable strategic SOEs. Weaker enterprises, conversely, should undergo balance-sheet restructuring.
The government is also urged to align fiscal consolidation efforts with initiatives to rebuild foreign-exchange reserves and limit quasi-fiscal liabilities.
Reducing electricity costs is identified as another priority. The assessment recommends increased reliance on renewable-energy independent power producers, reduced system losses, and stronger payment discipline from public institutions.
The report also cautions Djibouti against pursuing infrastructure projects without clear economic and financial returns. It advocates for greater use of public-private partnerships, blended finance, development-finance guarantees, and project-based financing, particularly for water, renewable energy, logistics, and digital infrastructure.
Potential investment needs are estimated at approximately $2.5 billion for logistics corridors, $1.8 billion for renewable energy, and $1.2 billion for water infrastructure. However, the report emphasizes that these are preliminary estimates requiring detailed project-level due diligence.
Despite the debt risks, the assessment assigns Djibouti a BBB investment rating with a positive outlook, citing its strategic location and role in regional trade as key advantages.
It recommends focusing future investment on transport and logistics, renewable energy, water resilience, digital infrastructure, and structured trade finance.
The central challenge for Djibouti, the report suggests, is no longer merely attracting more capital, but ensuring that new investment does not replicate the debt pressures generated by previous infrastructure expansion.
The assessment calls for stronger debt-sustainability safeguards, tighter SOE discipline, adequate foreign-exchange reserves, environmental and social safeguards, and contingency plans for maritime disruptions.
What happened in the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week was tragic for everyone involved. So let’s make it a regular thing, the EU apparently decided – at least judging by its actions.
I’m not saying that anybody overtly wants migrants from all over Africa to routinely storm the borders of some far-flung part of the EU in an attempt to get a foothold on a shuttle from a migrant center into mainland Europe. In fact, Ursula von der Leyen has said that she wants more barriers and watchful eyes on the borders. By barriers, presumably she means walls or fences. And by eyes, she probably means nightclub-style bouncers with biceps the size of my thighs and not neighborhood block watch grannies. Not that she’s going to say that. Although she should. If only to counter all the virtue signaling that Spain did that contributed to the problem in the first place.
All these new measures are supposed to keep migrants out of Europe. But at the same time, the EU is doing its usual routine of mitigating its common-sense measures with self-defeating idiocy. Because what better way to encourage Morocco or any other nation bordering the EU to fumble the migration situation at home than to give them even more financial incentive.
Because that’s worked out well so far. How much EU taxpayer cash is actually needed under this racket for Morocco to do the job that it’s being paid for? From 2014 to 2022, the EU paid Rabat €2.1 billion to stem migration to the EU, plus another €631 million in 2021/2022 alone. Losing total control – or pretending to – seems to be a convenient way to get a raise. It’s like a lifeguard who lets everyone drown and then goes and asks for a performance bonus. Or a security company that gets paid more for a spike in break-ins. Or a firefighter who bills extra for every house that catches fire on their watch.
Türkiye already did this hostage routine with Brussels. In the wake of conflicts in Syria and Libya, the EU paid Ankara to hold back migrants from Europe’s borders. And what do you know – it never turned out to be enough. The tsunami seemed to ebb and flow in rhythm with the ink spilled in Brussels on checks to Team Erdogan.
Speaking of Libya – it’s been paid for the EU’s border outsourcing, too. As have Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of the Horn of Africa, like Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just have doors with actual locks on them at home, like the average common-sense person does? But no, Europe can’t do that because then it can’t say how open and free it is. Better to pay for the iron fist to be wielded elsewhere by someone with the financial motivation to do so. Even if their enthusiasm for the job seems to be like a carnival game where the prize appears only after the operator gets another handful of tokens.
Meanwhile, Spain is being treated like the sole author of this mess, as if this entire surge just spontaneously generated the moment a legal ruling changed deportation procedures. And yes, that ruling mattered because it altered incentives. As did Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s amnesty offer – with a reported million applicants showing interest so far.
But who else has been incentivized? As if thousands of migrants were reading EU policy briefings over breakfast. Instead, they were on social media and apparently saw a sudden onslaught of online content convincing them to drop the Doritos and make a run for the border. Who made that happen? And with all the disinformation fighting tools that the EU boasts about, how did this massive whale actually succeed in beaching itself onto a piece of Europe while the EU’s entire anti-disinformation fleet was patrolling the waters? Guess it’s a pretty good sign that the whale wasn’t Russian, huh? Because the world’s most sophisticated whale-watchers would have already mapped its migration patterns.
It raises a question that no one in official statements really seems too keen to ask aloud: who benefits from the chaos? Not Spain, clearly. Not the EU, judging from how unenthusiastic it sounds about it. But Israel and the US sure have been upset with Spain’s position opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza and war in Iran. But upset enough to have funded NGOs to “give away” Spain’s enclave in North Africa, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son once threatened on social media back in 2019?
In any case, now Spain is relegated to begging nation-states to control their own citizens. Not exactly a position of strength. But once that amnesty signal is out there, then unfortunately you don’t get to choose who accepts it, which hidden powers could decide to exploit it in an attempt to pressure you, or how many show up to camp out in your tranquil EU garden and flatten your flowerbeds. Including those caught between the EU and the countries it keeps paying to roleplay as its contracted security guards.
Capital is the longest-established private English newspaper in Ethiopia
Contact us: info@capitalethiopia.com
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv
