In Ethiopia, the narrative that startups drive job creation, championed globally by NGOs, is particularly resonant. NGOs inject capital into Ethiopian startups, particularly in agriculture and technology, anticipating significant unemployment reduction. However, the reality often belies this optimism. Similar to Nairobi and Bangalore, Ethiopian startups, under pressure to impress donors, report inflated job figures. For example, an agricultural startup may count hundreds of seasonal jobs as permanent employment, painting a misleading picture of their impact.
The Reality of ‘Cooking’ Data in Ethiopia
Ethiopian startups, mirroring their South American counterparts, sometimes exaggerate employment numbers to meet NGO expectations. This phenomenon is prevalent in regions where NGOs tie funding to job creation metrics. Consequently, Ethiopian startups may include temporary and part-time positions in their statistics, artificially inflating the employment impact.
Social Impact vs. Business Viability in Ethiopian Startups
Ethiopian startups, particularly in renewable energy, often face a dilemma between NGO-driven social goals and business scalability. An NGO’s emphasis on community-level projects can restrict a startup’s growth potential and ability to compete in larger markets. This dynamic echoes the situation in Ghana, where a shift towards social objectives compromised product competitiveness.
Innovation Stifled by Good Intentions in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, the focus on achieving NGO-set social targets can hinder innovation. For instance, a tech startup encouraged to develop local problem solutions might miss opportunities in broader markets. This situation mirrors the challenges faced in India, where a solar energy startup was directed to prioritize household installations, limiting its technological and market growth.
Refocusing on Sustainable Development in Ethiopian Startups
The Ethiopian startup ecosystem illustrates the complex interplay between NGO funding and startup objectives. While NGOs’ intentions are commendable, their approach often leads to skewed job creation figures and diverted focus from innovation. For sustainable job growth in Ethiopia, it’s crucial that startups balance social impact with business viability. The shift should be towards nurturing innovation and building solid business models, rather than merely fulfilling short-term social goals. This approach is essential for genuine, lasting economic development and job creation in Ethiopia.
When you hear a story about Ethiopia in pressing need of a port/ports for its import and export needs, it begs you to ask questions. That country is the largest country in population and land area and it is also the largest economy in that region with no seaport of its own. But there are 3 countries that have such ports(Kenya and Sudan excluded here for convenience) that are just a stone throw away from Ethiopia. Only Djibouti has its port open for the land locked country. Such arrangement has created well paid jobs for thousands of Djiboutians. But the port in that tiny country seems to have reached its capacity limits. But there are other ports in Eritrea and Somalia that can be built up to handle the growing import and export needs of Ethiopia that will create tens of thousands of good paying jobs for the citizens of these two countries. Assab is left idle and rusting away. Berbera is buffed up by Dubai boys and it is sitting there just to show off as a nice picture on the wall. I can understand the Berbera issue. It may have diplomatic issue. But I don’t see any plausible reason about Assab or Massawa. Was there even formal talks between these two nations? What is holding it up?
Djibouti is made up of people that also made up Ethiopia. Djibouti has its port wide open for ‘its people’ in Ethiopia. Eritrea is made up with the same ethnic groups as those in Ethiopia. Don’t pull that ‘reinvented lasagna and spaghetti’ on me here! Now, be very careful when you say this. Even though it’s made up of the same ethnic groups of people like Ethiopia, Eritrea is an internationally recognized sovereign state like Djibouti and Ethiopia. But for some mysterious reasons, its ports are slam shut on ‘its people’ in Ethiopia. I am aware that there was a stupid war started by stupid individuals between the two nations that raged and killed hundreds of thousands of people before. That was 23 years ago. Once bustling ports have been dead idle rusting and molding away since then. I am aware there have been some fishing and marine activities there with offshore oil drilling prospects all that. But the deal is ‘show me the money now, as we speak’. Officials from both nations should have their senses back and open up job opportunities for millions of their citizens. ‘I can do this to you’ point has already been made. Everybody’s got it! Learn from others even from those in Africa. Get on with it!