Rinchi
TechInAfrica – Ethiopia through Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology announced on Wednesday that it has entered a partnership with Alibaba in order to build and boost the digital economy across the country. The announcement was made in Hangzhou China at the Alibaba Group headquarters where the two entities met.
“Great discussion with Jack Ma on building Ethiopian Digital Economy,” said Getahun Mekuria, the Ethiopian Minister and Technology who met Alibaba‘s founder, Jack Ma in China for the partnership plan.
“Jack Ma expressed he has been inspired by the reforms that have been undertaken, confirming that Ethiopia is now a key strategic partner which he will visit this year,” Mekuria said.
The visit to Alibaba‘s headquarters by Mekuria followed Ethiopia Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed’s visit to the Alibaba‘s headquarters in Hangzhou in April this year and the first meeting in January at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Ethiopian Prime Minister is seeking ways to partner with Chinese companies and attract foreign capital and expertise to the country. As a result, there’s a lot of Chinese investment in Ethiopia. As part of the partnership, Alibaba will invest in a tech city in Ethiopia and encourage other successful Chinese tech firms to invest in the country.
According to the plan, Jack Ma will visit Ethiopia in November this year along with a high-level delegation of Chinese investors expected to boost the country’s financial inclusion and the digital economy.
Source: techmoran.com
