The Economist to Host Ethiopia Summit 2015

This week, The Economist will be hosting The Ethiopia Summit 2015 in Addis Ababa. The conference plans to bring together the country’s leading policy makers and business executives to explore, discuss and tackle the current economic challenges Ethiopia faces today.

Matthew Davis will be speaking on the “Financing Ethiopia’s Ambitious Plans” panel. This panel will discuss Ethiopia’s constrained banking sector, which had led to a “gap” in access to finance for small to medium sized enterprises. As a result, private equity groups, such as RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN), have stepped in to fill this gap and provide entrepreneurs with the means to scale their companies. In light of Ethiopia’s second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), the panel will explore Ethiopia’s current investment environment, the opportunities to help finance the country’s development goals, and the changes the private banking sector would experience if it were to open up.

Hailu Tessema, the owner of Mama Fresh Injera, PLC - one of the the IAN’s portfolio companies - will be sharing the challenges he has faced as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, his successes to date, as well as lessons learnt from building a company from scratch and growing it to a global enterprise.

This event is significant, as it demonstrates a shift in the world’s focus on development and aid, to investment and trade. With Ethiopia being the second most populous country and the ninth largest economy on the continent, the country is poised to achieve its full potential and become one of the world’s fastest growing economies*. Be sure you do not miss out on the opportunities Ethiopia has to offer!