Driving continued growth: The Ethiopia Summit 2015

Driving continued growth: The Ethiopia Summit 2015

More than 150 of the country’s leading policymakers, business leaders, and international executives active or interested in expanding in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 21 September 2015/ --  Over the past decade, Ethiopia has experienced solid economic growth—GDP growth has averaged 10% a year and foreign direct investment reached almost US$1bn in 2013/2014—but what more needs to be done for the country to achieve its full potential? Is Ethiopia on course to achieve its ambitious goals with its second Growth and Transformation Plan? •    What are Ethiopia's future growth prospects? •    Is the state-led development model sustainable? •    What are the challenges currently faced by the private sector? •    What opportunities exist for private equity firms looking to enter the Ethiopian market? •    Will Ethiopia fully join COMESA's Free Trade Area to achieve further growth through collaboration? Organised under the theme “Driving continued growth” The Economist Events’ Ethiopia Summit (http://www.ethiopiasummit.economist.com) will bring together more than 150 of the country’s leading policymakers and business leaders with international executives active or interested in expanding in Ethiopia to explore opportunities and tackle challenges. Along with His Excellency Prime Minister Desalegn, the summit will feature speakers and panellists from government and industry including: •    HE Dr Arkebe Oqubay, Minister and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia •    HE Dr Abraham Tekeste Meskel, State Minister, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia •    Fitsum Arega, Director General, Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) •    Sindiso Ngwenya, Secretary-General, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) •    Greg Dorey, British Ambassador to Ethiopia and British Permanent Representative to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa •    Tewolde GebreMariam, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines •    Haddis Tadesse, Country Representative, Ethiopia and Representative to the African Union, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation •    Andualem Admassie, Chief Executive Officer, Ethio Telecom •    Tewodros Ashenafi, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SouthWest Energy •    Khalid Bomba, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency •    Reg Hankey, Chief Executive Officer, Pittards •    Francis Agbonlahor, Managing Director, Meta Abo Brewery Share Company, Diageo •    Rana Sengupta, Vice-president, Africa Emerging Markets and Customer Development, Africa Business and Managing Director, Ethiopia, Unilever •    Brian Herlihy, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, BlackRhino •    Fitsum Arega, Director General, Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) •    Munir Duri, Chief Executive Officer, Kifiya •    Mayur Kothari, Founder and Chairman, Mohan Group of Companies •    Sergei Stankovski, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs •    Gabriel Negatu, Regional Director for Eastern Africa , African Development Bank •    Sergei Stankovski, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of The Economist Events. Follow the Ethiopia Summit via @EconomistEvents #EthiopiaSummit on Twitter to get the latest updates, submit your questions, and join in with discussions on the day.