Ethiopian Ministry of Finance revealed today that it will issue invitation for bid to international telecom companies to award two bidders that take over 40 percent stakes of Ethio Telecom in October 2020.

The ministry held a consultative meeting today with private, financial and IT sectors to get their feedback on the privatization process, particularly in the telecom sector during the past two years.

Senior Advisor at Ministry of Finance, Brook Taye told ENA that the bid will be announced and all interested bidders can get information within the coming 20-25 days.

According to Brook, the government has been working in telecom reform to prepare a new proclamation during the last 24 months.

The bid document for the two new licenses will allow the winners to build, own and operate  telecommunications network, he added.

Finance Minister Ahmed Shide on his part said at the consultative meeting that Ethiopia has been conducting a sizable and impactful reform in the telecom sector which enables the country to accelerate its digital economy.

See more:https://africabusinessnetworking.com/ethiopia-to-award-foreign-companies-that-buy-40-percent-stakes-of-ethio-telecom-by-february-2021/

Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with First Consult on Monday in order to implement the digitization of the labour supply and matching database for factories within seven industrial parks in Ethiopia.

The MoU was signed today by EIC Commissioner, Lelise Neme, and, the BRIDGES Program Project Manager Michael Addisu.

The partnership between First Consult, which is implementing the BRIDGES Programme, an initiative supported by the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Worksin Ethiopia strategy and the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), will lead to a series of job creation and employment interventions across several industrial parks (IPs) throughout the country.

The seven Industrial Parks participating in the utilization of the IP labour database include: Adama IP, Debre Berhan IP, Dire Dawa IP, Bahir Dar IP, Hawassa IP, Mekelle IP, and Kombolcha IP.

The BRIDGES Programme, which is a five-year initiative, will support the creation of close to 600,000 jobs for young people (80% women) and 15,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Furthermore, the BRIDGES Programme will train 300,000 unemployed young people through industrial park job creation initiatives, and market linkage between industrial parks and MSMEs.

The creation of a digital industrial park labour database will unlock the potential for job creation within industrial parks, as well as their surrounding ecosystem. Additionally, it will promote local value addition and domestic linkage between large investors and local suppliers. The IP labour database will also be used as a major instrument for optimal, reliable, and predictable labour market information for policy makers and industrial parks.

The expected impact of the digital IP labour database includes facilitating the matching of labour supply and demand to support an estimated 100,000 jobs within two years as well as supporting 30,000 industrial park workers to obtain soft-skill training and awareness of the industry for better comprehension and career development planning.

The BRIDGES Programme, which is a part of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works initiative, intends to facilitate and provide technical assistance toward the development of the digital labour database. In Ethiopia, the Mastercard Foundation, through its Young Africa Works strategy, aims to create 10 million dignified and fulfilling jobs and employment opportunities for young people by 2030.

The Ethiopian Investment Commission will take the lead in supervising the development of the IP labour database and manage its data collection and aggregation of information from all participating industrial parks. The EIC will also work to ensure proper buy-in and utilization of the database by stakeholders and investors.

Work on the digital IP labour database will begin in mid-September 2020 and continue throughout the implementation and scale up to additional industrial parks. Full development of the database and transfer of ownership to the Ethiopian Investment Commission will be completed by 2023.

EIC Public Relations Directorate

The Bishoftu Electric Power Distribution Station Project built with an outlay of more than 25 Million USD has become ready to go operational soon.

Manager of the Project, Dawit Gebreegziabher said the 400/230/15 Kilo-volt station has successfully undergone a test run so far, and become ready to go fully operational.

According to the manager, a 46 kilo meter of electric transmission which connects the project with substation has been installed so far.

The Power Distribution Station has an indispensable role in addressing power demands of Mega Industries in and around Bishoftu town and thousands of households in the area.

Source:https://www.fanabc.com/english/bishoftu-power-distribution-station-a-25m-project-ready-to-go-operational/

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, an Australian company, has shown its interest in investing in Ethiopia’s power sector.

Representatives of the company on Thursday, September 17, 2020, held discussion with Dr Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy.

The company expressed its interest to generate a total of 25 gigawatts of power (15GW from hydropower and 10GW from geothermal) at a cost of $10 billion.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Seleshi said “this is a big opportunity for Ethiopia.”

The government of Ethiopia has recently introduced a reform to improve electricity access in the country, which currently stands at 45%.

The nation has a plan to increases access by developing clean and renewable energy, financing the sector, involving the private sector and building strong institutions, he said.

Read More At: https://africabusinessnetworking.com/australian-company-to-invest-in-ethiopias-power-sector/