Ethiopia’s Tamrit Initiative revives 625 industries, boosts capacity utilization to 61%: Ministry of Industry
Addis Abeba – Since the launch of the national “Ethiopia Tamrit” campaign two years ago, more than 625 industries that had ceased operations for various reasons have resumed production, according to Melaku Alebel, Minister of Industry.
He made this statement during a forum held on 21 January, 2025, organized to evaluate the half-year performance of the “Ethiopia Tamrit” initiative.
Highlighting improvements in the manufacturing sector, Melaku noted that the utilization rate of manufacturing industries previously stood at 46%. However, since the inception of the campaign, this rate has risen to an average of 61%.
Ayana Zewdie (PhD), Coordinator of the Ethiopia Manufacturing Project Office, also remarked that the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country’s economic growth has increased significantly, climbing from 4.8% to 10.1% since the launch of the “Ethiopia Tamrit” initiative.
Last year, Addis Standard reported that the contribution of the manufacturing sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had declined from 5.9% in 2019 to 4.4% in 2022. This downturn was attributed to a series of adverse events, including instability, foreign currency shortages, and limited access to finance.
According to a December 2023 report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), these challenges resulted in the closure of 446 manufacturing firms out of an estimated 5,000. The report further highlighted that the deteriorating security situation was a significant factor contributing to these closures. AS
