Ethiopia welcomes foreign investors, just not in telecoms and banking

Ethiopia is not yet ready for foreign investments in its telecoms and banking sectors, but is interested in developing its manufacturing, Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu said on Tuesday.

The country, which has one of the last state telecoms monopolies on the continent, has let foreign companies including fashion chain H&M set up factories in a decade-long push to change the economic focus from agriculture to manufacturing.

“Ethiopia is not ready yet for accepting investments in telecoms and finance,” Mulatu said during a joint news conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.

“Our priority is manufacturing sector. Ethiopia opens door broadly for investments in manufacturing sectors such as textiles, skin products, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and agriculture,” Mulatu said.