MoF, MIGA discuss to explore ways to encourage more investment in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, November 13, 2023 (FBC) – Minister of State for Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Semereta Sewasew met today with Mr Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Vice President, Operations, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and discussed ongoing support and explored potential areas for further collaboration.

The state minister thanked the support Ethiopia is getting from MIGA and briefed the visiting Vice President on the ongoing economic reforms the Government of Ethiopia is undertaking to address the macroeconomic challenges. According to her, the government is working to transform the structure and the source of growth from the public sector led to a private sector-driven economy whereby coordinated development partners support is needed to accelerate the reforms.

She assured the commitment of the Government of Ethiopia to work with MIGA in the areas of noncommercial risk insurance, credit enhancement, liquidity facility, and trade facility and to address financial constraints and enhance the attractiveness of the investment.

Attributing to the ongoing support, the Vice President explained MIGA’s support in backstopping FDI in areas of energy, water and sanitation, and telecom. By acknowledging the ongoing reforms by the Ethiopian government, he also mentioned the importance of leveraging resources as blended finance with different financiers.

Since its establishment in 1988, MIGA has supported USD 1.2 Billion worth of investments in Ethiopia across different projects of which a telecommunication service license to Safaricom and the development of a 150 MW Tulu Moye geothermal power plant are a few to mention.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is a member of the World Bank Group mandated to promote cross-border investments in developing countries by providing guarantees (political risk insurance and credit enhancement) for investors and lenders, according to the Ministry of Finance.