Ethiopia’s economic reforms and development agenda

Ethiopia’s ambition to become a middle-income economy and deliver shared and sustained prosperity is driven by the government’s ‘Ten-Year Perspective Development Plan’ (2021 – 2030), which supplements the existing vision for a ‘Home-grown Economic Reform’ agenda.

The country however faces significant challenges in this path, including escalating inflation rates and a long-standing debt and foreign currency crisis, as well as the multiplier effects of conflict in Tigray and insecurity in several regions, the COVID-19 pandemic and desert locus infestations.

A gradual process of private-sector led liberalization has begun in some sectors, including in logistics and telecommunications, marking an important shift away from the largely state-led development pursued in recent decades.

This redirection sharpens the imperative for policy implementation that ensures inclusive job creation and makes further gains in reducing socio-economic inequalities, particularly in Ethiopia’s rural areas, within which almost 80 per cent of the population reside.

At this event, speakers discuss Ethiopia’s economic reform trajectory and long-term developmental vision, reflecting on how this builds on existing achievements and the priorities for promoting more equitable and innovative growth.

They also focus on how efforts to build a more conducive and inclusive environment for economic policy delivery can contribute towards a reduction in political turbulence and instability in the long-term.

This event is part of a series of outputs on Ethiopia’s political transition. More from the series includes:

• Perspectives on Ethiopia’s 2021 elections
• Imperfect elections do not fortify Ethiopia’s transition
• Ethiopia’s Tigray crisis: Protecting civilians and delivering humanitarian assistance

This event will also be broadcast live on the Chatham House Africa Programme’s Facebook page.