Addressing an impressive gathering of private sector leaders, H.E Dr. Abraham Tekeste said that Ethiopia’s growth and transformation is not simply explainable via numbers. It expresses itself better in qualitative terms in which the dominant fatalistic culture of the 90s has given way. “People were so desperate they had almost given up, now the dominant culture is one of aspiration. Almost everyone wants to achieve something; they are confident in themselves and have a vision. This refers not only to people like me and some of you, but Ethiopians in remote areas as well, they have something to look forward to. This aspiration could be a critical source for growth and transformation. For me the progress we have made over the last 20 years is important in the sense that it has increased our national aspiration, the sky is the limit,” said Dr. Abraham.
The forum was opened with a welcome note from Mr. Henok Assefa, Managing Partner of Precise Consult International. H.E Dr. Abraham gave his talk on the current state of the Ethiopian economy and future prospects. He explained that the Ethiopian Economy, last year grew by 8%, while the African continent grew by only 2.2 – 2.4 %. For the first time in 10 years, per capita income actually decreased on the continent, which is worrisome. In spite of this Ethiopia continues to grow, so much so that the size of the economy doubled over the last 6 years. Now, Ethiopia has officially become the 4th largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Per capita income also more than doubled in 6 years although it remains a low-income economy. But to sustain and consolidate the gains of the past decade, the country must grow and strengthen its domestic private sector. He said that the government will not protect the domestic market from foreign investment forever and advised that the local private sector should take steps to build its competitiveness.
The Ethiopia CEOs Forum is an exclusive, membership-based club for leading CEOs in Ethiopia. As part of the membership package, Precise Consult offers exclusive insights into the workings of the Ethiopian economy and provides guidance on how to understand new business trends. More than 80 participants attended the 6th CEOs forum which was held at the Hilton Addis for the first time.
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