Ethiopia's foreign direct investment (FDI) jumped over USD 3.8 billion in the just-ended 2023/24 fiscal year, up 22 percent in the number of projects and 11.5 percent in value, the government said.
The FDI figure represents 80 percent of the target set for the year, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) said.
The government issued 329 new investment licenses, lower than the 378 target. Some 75 percent of the new licenses were in the manufacturing sector, with construction and ICT ranking second and third, respectively.
Industry parks exported USD 115.2 million, much lower than two years before Ethiopia was blacklisted from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program due to the war in the Tigray region.
The government aims to attract USD 4.5 billion in FDI in the new fiscal year, according to EIC head Hanna Arayaselassie.
"To achieve this target, we are doing extensive investment promotion and working closely with regional authorities to attract more investment. We are also reforming the special economic zones," Hanna said.
Hanna added that Ethiopia had opened up the retail and wholesale sectors by the end of the just-ended fiscal year, which she expects to bring in more FDI next year. "We expect the fruits of the liberalization next year," she said.