US$ 342m extended to manufacturing industry projects in Ethiopia

A whopping US$ 342m has been extended to manufacturing industry projects in Ethiopia projects by The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE).

Manufacturing industry projects in Ethiopia which include agro- processing, leather, textile, metalwork, pharmaceuticals, chemical and construction were 235 in number and are among the priorities of the Ethiopian government.

DBE Corporate Communication Director Behaylu Kasu, confirmed the reports and said that of the US$ 342m loan that has been extended during the 11 months period, 75 per cent was provided to local projects and the remaining to foreign projects.

Moreover, the Development Bank has approved over US$ 821m to support projects in the manufacturing sub-sector in the 2009 E.C Ethiopian fiscal year.

However, in regards to the provision of the lease funds for small and medium enterprises, Mr. Behaylu pointed out that the performance was very low and he attributed the low results to the weak incorporation among stakeholders and also due to the problems that are related to provision of land in the country.