The electronic investment guide (iGuide) to Ethiopia is to be officially launched in United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa (UNCC) on 19 December 2018 in the presence of Mr Shumete Gizaw, State Minister, Ministry of Innovation & Technology, Mr Fitsum Arega, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and Ms Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), as well as other senior officials.

The web-based investment promotion tool covers a wide range of topics deemed relevant to investment consideration and will serve as the first point of contact for domestic and international companies and businesspeople interested in investing in Ethiopia. The platform highlights the various investment opportunities in the country and provides information on the costs, laws and regulations related to various aspects of investment, such as business set-up, labour, taxation, and access to land. Investors may also be interested in contact details of relevant public institutions, official texts of laws and directives, as well as in feedback collected among investors who are already active in Ethiopia.

The iGuide for Ethiopia was developed by the EIC in collaboration with the ECA and UNCTAD. As part of the project, the two UN organisations have provided capacity-building and technical assistance to the EIC staff who will own, manage and update the platform regularly.

Since the beginning of the year, ECA and UNCTAD have jointly launched iGuides in six other African countries, namely the Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, Madagascar and, most recently, Mauritania. The iGuide project falls within the broader ECA efforts to support productive investment for sustainable development in Africa.

The preliminary programme can be accessed here.