Precise Consult International organized the 5th Ethiopia CEOs Breakfast Forum today November 26, 2015 at Sheraton Addis as part of its initiative to bring together leading CEOs, government officials, donors and international agencies on issues related to doing business in Ethiopia. The forum was attended by more than 80 participants from leading enterprises, government officials, international donors, embassies and development agencies. The forum focused on GTP II: Understanding the Manufacturing Sector in Ethiopia and the opportunity it creates for business and economic development.
The forum was opened with a welcome note from Mr. Henok Assefa, Managing Partner of Precise consult International. Following that, H.E Dr. Arkebe Oqubay; Minister and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister made a speech about Ethiopia’s current economic performance and the progress that Ethiopian government is planning to make during the implementation of the GTP II. He discussed that Ethiopia’s focus needs to shift from an agriculture-led growth to an industry-led one. The manufacturing sector is poised to play a major role in bring this to fruition. The manufacturing sector currently contributes only 5% to the nations GDP. In order to transform this, the government has now prepared the GTP II as a master plan. As part of that plan, Ethiopia will be working to boost its exports so as to reduce the import export gap.
Mr. Sebuh Haileleul; General Manager for Microsoft East and Southern Africa (ESA) also spoke at the forum. According to Mr. Sebuh Haileleul, the company is aligned with Africa’s aspiration to become globally competitive and sustain its economic growth. “Through our Microsoft 4Afrika program, we seek to achieve our mission which is to: Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. For example, in Ethiopia we have partnered with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to offer training and mentorship for Ethiopia’s UNDP supported Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP). We are also working with the Ministry of Education to get 1 Million students on Office 365, which will be one of the largest student populations on Office 365”, said Mr. Sebuh.
The 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.