MinFin, UNIDO Shake Hands on $28mln Deal to Support Textile Industry

ADDIS ABABA – The Ministry of Finance and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) signed a 28-million-dollar project agreement to support the growth of Ethiopia’s textile and garments industry.

The agreement was signed by State Minister of Finance Semereta Sewasew and UNIDO country representatives Calabro Aurelia Patrizia on Thursday.

The five-year project will be financed in collaboration with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), of which UNIDO’s share will be $3 million.

Its activities, the finance ministry, says, will focus on promotion of a circular economy in the textile and garment sector “through the introduction of resource-efficient technologies”.

The Ethiopian Textile Industries Development Institute is the main implementor of the project which also aims to enhance regulator and institutional capacity in the sector.

At the signing event, State Minister Semereta expressed the government’s ongoing and planned efforts to enhance the manufacturing sector and substitute imports.
The commitment of the UNIDO will continue supporting the journey of industrialization in Ethiopia, the state minister said.

UNIDO has been providing capacity building and technical support to Ethiopia’s industrial development with focus on the textile, leather, and agro-processing manufacturing sectors.