Ethiopia has inaugurated the 1st phase of its ICT village in a move to create job opportunities for its population as well as attract Foreign Direct Investments and develop the country’s ICT sector.Minister for Communication and IT, Dr. Debre-Tsion Gebre- Michael told the papert that the location is convenient for both local and foreign firms to do business as it’s near the Bole International Airport.Apart from the ICT Village, Bole Lemi is also home of the Bole Lemi Industrial Zone which covers 156 hectares of land designated for agro-processors, pharmaceutical-makers and textile manufacturers aimed at helping Ethiopia grow its exports then boost its economic growth.
The EthioICT-Village aims to help establish Ethiopia as the premier IT hub of Africa and provide impetus for the development of ICT sector in the country by offering a world class business environment along with a conducive policy and regulatory regime, state-of‐the‐art infrastructure and a value proposition geared towards positioning Ethiopia as the preferred IT hub of Africa. Create a destination for overseas investment and on‐going generation of foreign earnings and create employment and career opportunities for Ethiopian citizens.
Ethiopia says the EthioICT-Village provides IT infrastructure and manpower attractive to national & multinational companies, generates employment and ocapacity building, as well as generation of foreign earnings. It also catalyzes the commercial and retail businesses in the surrounding areas ad creates linkage opportunities in areas such as construction contracts, supplies, materials and food and packaging supplies.
Some of the buildings in EthioICT-Village include a data centre, an Incubator with 10,000 Sq. meter among others.
