German companies and institutions with interest in Africa are exploring investment opportunities in Ethiopia.

The companies represented by a delegation from the German-African Business Association had discussion with Foreign Affairs State Minister Dr. Aklilu Hailemichael.

Association Chairman Dr. Stefan Liebing said the discussion is part of a regular exchange of investment plans and business cooperation among the two countries.   

“During our discussion today we were able to recognize a number of success stories such as the recent investment in agriculture, automotive sector and several others that have been in Ethiopia for years,” he added.

According to him, the association is now pursuing a number of major projects in renewable energy, infrastructure and hi-tech.

“On top of this, given the new attention the G-20 governments are giving to Africa, I am very optimistic that we can create a few big success stories over the next two months”, Dr. Liebing pointed out.

Germany's Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union, Brita Wagener said the discussion was fruitful in terms of assessing the possible business and investment opportunities.

“We were discussing possibilities for German companies to work in Ethiopia and they would like to engage in various sectors of light manufacturing and infrastructure”, she added.

Foreign Affairs State Minister Dr. Aklilu Hailemichael told journalists that members of the association were briefed on the available business and investment opportunities in Ethiopia.

Trends are that investors are flowing towards Ethiopia not only from Asia but also from Europe, mainly because the whole world understands that the country is the best investment destination in Africa, he noted.

The German-African Business Association provides information about countries and markets and represents the interests of its more than 600 members nationally and internationally with respect to political, economic and media issues.

Cheap and abundant labor force, rapid economic growth, better infrastructure, enough energy to accommodate the needs of investment, and large market opportunity are among the many things that lures investors, the State Minister added.

The German investors seek to engage in the electromechanical of the country’s energy generating projects that are undertaken in many parts of the nation, it was learned.

The German-African Business Association (Afrika-Verein) is participant in two major African initiatives of the German private sector Southern Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI) and North Africa and Middle East Initiative of German Business (NMI).