Ethiopia reforms aim to increase private sector participation in economy

Abstract

Ethiopia is implementing reforms to broaden the participation of the private sector in the country’s economy as well as increase competitiveness as it seeks to create decent jobs for its populace, Finance Minister Ahmed Shide said Tuesday. In a speech read on his behalf at a joint Economic Commission for Africa-World Bank Roundtable Workshop on Jobs and Economic Transformation, Mr. Shide said unemployment remained an issue in Ethiopia despite the country managing to sustain rapid growth for more than a decade and a half. Mr. Shide announces that the hospitality and service sector is so far the biggest job creator in Ethiopia. The minister added, “For a country like Ethiopia, where two million new jobs are to be created, nothing is more important than linking the job creation agenda to transformation efforts. I think this forum will help us think more clearly about how to do this. "