The government of Italy has pledged a 2.8 million Euros in financial assistance to the Technical Assistance Project for the Upgrading of the Ethiopian Leather and Leather Product Industry-Phase2.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNDIO) driven project aims to improve Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) income generation and increase job opportunities, with special attention to youth and women. Italian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Giuseppe Mistretta and UNIDO Regional Director Jean Bakole signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), confirming Italy’s financial assistance to UNIDO’s project in Ethiopia.
The project, which will be implemented in the next three years, is aimed at strengthening local capacity and promoting local MSMEs operating in the sector. It assists, among others, gender focused groups, facilitating access to loans and linkages with financial institutions.
Ambassador Mistretta on the occasion expressed Italy’s commitment to support Ethiopia’s industry sector which he said is playing a pivotal role in the country’s development. Italy will continue its intervention in other sectors like coffee and empowering women through projects initiated by UNIDO and the Ministry of Industry, the Ambassador pledged.
He said Italy is working on ways of controlling and managing migration through creating jobs, training and information exchanges. The agreement will create an opportunity to UNIDO to scale up its support considering the expansion of leather and leather products sub-sectors in the country, remarked UNIDO Regional Director Jean Bakole.
“We will be able not to continue but also to scale up our project intervention for the development of clusters of the MSMEs active on leather and leather sector in the country,” the Director added. State Minister of Industry Tadesse Haile, who attended today’s agreement signing event, on his part said the UNIDO project would help enhance the contribution of MSMEs to economic development in the country. The Ministry of Industry is involving in creating conducive environment for the emergence of new MSMEs and increasing the productivity of the existing ones, according to the State Minister.
Leather and leather sector and MSMEs are considered by the government of Ethiopia as strategic for the economic development and job creation.
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