The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a $60m loan to Elnefeidi Group Holding Company to help finance its long-term agriculture and food expansion programme.
The planned expansion includes increasing agricultural productivity, enhancing related infrastructure, food processing and distribution. It will directly contribute in developing Sudan’s livestock value chain (poultry and beef) by increasing the country’s export capacity for value-added livestock products. This will help reduce the economic value that the country loses by exporting millions of live animals each year.
“Agricultural transformation is one of the Bank’s top five strategic priorities and the Bank is delighted to have identified a viable private sector actor like Elnefeidi Group which has a proven track record and through which we can channel the Bank’s support” said Atsuko Toda, African Development Bank Director for Agriculture Finance and Rural Development.
Sudan: African Development Bank approves $60 million loan to support Elnefeidi Group’s agricultural expansion.
Ethiopia Hacks! 7.0
The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa conducted its latest hackathon: “Digital Solutions to Elections-related Technology.” This was the seventh hackathon conducted by the U.S. Embassy in a series of twelve under its Ethiopia Hacks! program.
Ethiopia Hacks! is conducted in partnership with the Google Developers Group (GDG) and the Centre for Accelerated Women’s Economic Empowerment (CAWEE). Each hackathon challenges aspiring young tech developers to identify prototype solutions to community challenges in Ethiopia.
Subject matter and technology experts met December 13-15, 2019 at the Colonel John C. Robinson American Center in Addis Ababa to brainstorm and generate open-source, free, and easy-to-learn technology solutions for the good of society.
By supporting and developing an eco-system that promotes innovation and technology, the U.S. Embassy is investing the capacity of young Ethiopians to shape their futures. In total, the Ethiopia Hacks! program will invest in the capacity of 600 tech-savvy youth, who will have the opportunity to participate and generate solutions for their communities. Funding is provided jointly by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Alibaba Netpreneur Training program opens applications for Ethiopian entrepreneurs
As part of the agreements signed between Ethiopia and Alibaba Group announcing the establishment of an eWTP Hub in Ethiopia last month, the Alibaba Business School in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology will be hosting the first Alibaba Netpreneur Training program for entrepreneurs and business owners from Ethiopia in March 2020. Applications for the program can be submitted through the Alibaba Netpreneur Training website from Dec 18th 2019 to Jan 19th 2020.
The 10-day program held at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China, is aimed at ambitious entrepreneurs and business leaders in Ethiopia who are committed to harnessing digital technology to transform local businesses for lasting success. The program aims to teach attendees to accelerate the digital development of their business and work with related parties to build success cases that will become the building blocks of their local communities and, ultimately, the larger digital economy.
Fintech Summit Sheds Light on Ethiopia Market Opportunity
On November 21, 2019 over 400 fintechs, regulators, investors, and financial service executives from across 30 countries and 4 continents convened at the Sheraton Addis in Ethiopia for the 4th Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS). This is a significant milestone in Ethiopia as the country seeks to liberalize its telecommunications sector, improve the ease of making financial transactions, and transition to a digital economy. AFTS featured a wide range of fintech stakeholders, including Ethiopia’s Minister of Innovation of Technology, Getahun Mekuria, who laid out his plan for “coming out of the woods of protectionism” and how Africa as a whole is committing “a trillion dollar mistake by not harnessing technology”. The Vice Governor for the National Bank of Ethiopia, Eyob Gebre Eyesus, further emphasized the relevance of AFTS by indicating that “the role of fintechs is now to awaken the sleeping giant, that is, Ethiopia.”
The diversity of companies and countries represented at AFTS Addis reflects the rising interest of global fintechs, banks, and investors in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation and fastest growing economy. Ethiopian organizations led the pack, followed by the USA, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition to Africa-focused fintechs like Apposit, Flutterwave, WorldRemit, and Zeepay, there was representation from numerous multinational organizations, including Microsoft, IBM, Citibank, Ecobank, KCB Group, and TDB. Although foreign participation in the Ethiopian economy has been highly limited to date, many of the international players represented at AFTS are establishing or growing their market presence in light of the current administration’s historic reform agenda, which includes liberalization of the financial services and telecommunications sectors.
