Addis Ababa — Innovation and Technology Minister Belete Mola said more than 31,000 citizens have so far successfully completed a coding training program carried out as part of the "Five Million Ethiopian Coders" training initiative and were certified.

Over 246,000 Ethiopians have now been attending the training program across the country.

He stated this during the 100-day performance review of the 2017 fiscal year, attended by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Following the comprehensive macroeconomic reform implemented in Ethiopia, major economic indicators performed better and attracted investment in the innovation and technology sector, it was indicated.

Innovation and Technology Minister, Belete Mola said since the reform was fully implemented, the work of opening up the market has been strengthened and he mentioned that revival is being seen in all economic sectors.

In view of this, the number of foreign and domestic investors engaged in information and technology, especially in the digitalization sector, has increased significantly, he noted.

The full implementation of the reform in the country has created a growing and stimulated demand, he explained.

Attention has been given to the "Five Million Ethiopian Coders" training Initiative, which was launched to increase the digital technology knowledge of Ethiopians and to do problem solving work, he stressed.

Accordingly, more than 246,000 citizens were registered and are being attending the training, and 31,000 of them have been certified.

Young people who are being trained as coders and startups who are engaged in the technology sector and have creative potential will be supported in a special way, he reassured.

A direction has also been set to focus on adapting and developing technologies, gradually reducing imported technologies, he added.

The "Five Million Coders" program launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is being implemented in partnership with United Arab Emirates (UAE) to boost digital technology capability among the youth in Ethiopia.

The project is aimed at improving the technological knowledge of the youth to enable them to work in various countries too.

The project envisages training to five million youth on web programing, developing android, data science, AI and to enable them acquire skills on basic digital technologies over the coming three years.