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– Ethiopia wants to be more than just a manufacturing hub—it wants to be a "focal point for bringing about change in the manufacturing industry," and it's putting its money where its mouth is. The country's Ministry of Industry is teaming up with the UN's Development Program to create the timbuktoo ManuTech Hub in Addis Ababa, which will serve as a place for African manufacturing companies to get tech support, finance, and mentorship, the Telegraph reports. The first group of companies will be welcome in early 2025, when the hub will be finished. Ethiopia has invested $1 billion in 18 industrial parks in an effort to lure manufacturing enterprises, but a UNDP report from 2023 found that the parks have not succeeded well enough to help the nation reach its manufacturing targets.The timbuktoo ManuTech Hub was established in Addis Ababa by the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide technical resources, finance, and mentorship to African companies. When the hub is finished in early 2025, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Industry will supply the space and welcome its first group of companies from around Africa. At a public consultation of Ethiopia’s startup proclamation, a call for applications was made public. Participants will be chosen every two years from all throughout Africa. By combining partnerships and technology, the centre hopes to be a focal point for bringing about change in the manufacturing industry.
Selected businesses will take part in a three-month hybrid accelerator program that offers them technological access, mentorship, training, and advice on how to improve their solutions to satisfy the manufacturing needs of the area. The chosen firms will also receive initial funds from the hub. The centre aligns with Ethiopia’s “Vision 2025” to become Africa’s manufacturing hub. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced plans in 2019 to revamp Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector, aiming for an extraordinary 11% annual GDP growth rate over the following ten years.
In order to entice enterprises, Ethiopia has invested $1 billion in 18 industrial parks and provided incentives like standardised energy costs and low wages. According to a UNDP assessment from 2023, despite these initiatives, the industrial parks have not succeeded well enough to help the nation reach its manufacturing targets. Achieving its lofty objective of improving its manufacturing sector will require overcoming a number of obstacles, including the need to train enough skilled engineers and fill technical and managerial competence gaps so that the nation can compete with multinational manufacturing giants like Bangladesh and India.
