The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) has approved 561.7 billion Birr budget for the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2014.
Responding to questions posed by members of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) about the budget, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed emphasized the need for increasing productivity in key sectors and mobilizing domestic financial resources for better earnings instead of solely depending on the limited budget allotted.
The budget allocated for sustainable development programs has doubled from 6 billion Birr to 12 billion Birr while subsidy to regions increased by 15 percent when compared to the closing budget, he added.
Out of the total 561.7 billion Birr budget, 162 billion Birr is allocated to recurrent budget, 183.5 billion Birr to capital expenditure, 203.95 billion Birr for subsidy to regions and city administrations, and 12 billion Birr to sustainable development.
The approved budget has shown 18 percent increase as compared to the just concluded fiscal year.
HPR approves over half a trillion birr budget for upcoming Ethiopian Fiscal Year
Kenya Airways Launches Fahari Innovation Hub
Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) has launched the Fahari Innovation Hub, a centre for innovation that acts as a springboard for new ideas and data-driven innovations to accelerate impact-driven solutions that address some of the societal and business challenges.
The Fahari Innovation Hub is part of KQ’s strategy in contributing to the sustainable development of Africa by empowering, partnering, and co-creating innovative ideas and strategies with local start-ups and the small-medium enterprises (SMEs) ecosystem.
Speaking during the launch the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Joseph Mucheru said, “There is need to invent new ways for the future and especially for our Youth to be able to respond as flexibly as possible to changing times and diverse opportunities. We commend Kenya Airways for partnering with National Youth Council and GE and leveraging and harnessing Youth potential to design the Fahari Innovation Hub in fast-tracking the country’s mission to use new, digital & environmental friendly business models beyond flying to shape our tomorrow. Through the hub we hope to see provision of up skilling, employment opportunities, community growth as well as support to local universities, enterprises and SMEs as we contribute to the sustainable development of Africa.”
UNDP collaborates with ITC to raise African business opportunities
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) team up to empower African small businesses, women and young entrepreneurs to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and expand cross-continental business opportunities.
This joint UN initiative comes as the continent contends with the economic strain of the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to drive recovery as well as build resilience for African businesses across the continent. ITC and UNDP will aim to increase the competitiveness of businesses, grow employment opportunities and achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 17.
By signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a joint online ceremony, both organizations commit to boosting the economic empowerment of women, increasing economic and employment opportunities for youth, broadening access to trade and market intelligence for small businesses and promoting e-commerce to enhance intra-African trade.
GPE appoints new MD
The Global Partnership for Ethiopia (GPE) appointed Anwar Soussa as the Managing Director (MD) of the Operating Company in Ethiopia, effective 1st July 2021. He will report to the Board of the Ethiopia entity and Safaricom PLC CEO.
Anwar is currently the Managing Director of Vodacom DRC and the Chairperson of Vodacash (M-PESA) a position he has held since 2017.
He has cemented Vodacom DRC as the largest Vodacom operation outside of South Africa by driving major strides in operational performance, crossing the $500M USD in service revenue mark for the first time in 2020.
He will formulate strategies and plans to ensure delivery of quality and affordable mobile and internet connectivity enabling millions more Ethiopians to access quality telecom services.
Anwar is a Greek national who holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American College of Greece (Deree) and a master’s degree in Marketing from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
