As part of its strategic goal of supporting its advocacy engagement with empirical studies, the Eurocham commissioned its maiden business climate report in the middle of 2021. The draft report was presented to its members as well as government stakeholders on two separate sessions.
The validation session with member companies took place on the 21st of October in virtual setting. The consultants made a presentation of summary of the key findings, preceded by welcome and opening remarks from Nahom F. Abraham, the executive director of Eurocham, and Mr. Ben Depraetere, board chairman. Member companies who took part in the session provided key input into the report with suggestions and questions that would help in further enriching the report to reflect their perceptions and views.
The second validation session was held on November 02 2021, in the presence of key government ministries and commissions. Representatives of ministries of Finance, Trade, Revenues, Innovation and technology were in attendance. Moreover, the National Bank and the customs commission were also in attendance. The guest of honor at the session was the deputy commission of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Mr. Temesgen Tilahun. He appreciated the efforts of Eurocham in it endeavor of working in tandem with the government in continuously improving the business climate. Ms. Sanne Willems, team leader at the EU Delegation in Ethiopia, also underscored the importance of public-private partnership and the EU’s readiness to support the country’s drive towards creating conducive environment of the private sector in general. The comments and suggestions garnered at the session, including those from the first session will be incorporated into the draft report. It is, tentatively planned that the report will be officially launched by early December 2021.
