UAE – Mubasher: The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) has penned a $100 million (AED 368 million) agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance to fund micro, small, and medium-sized projects in Ethiopia.
Under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the fund will support 37,000 projects over the next four years, according to a press release on Thursday.
The chairman of KFED, Jasim Al Nowais, said: “This agreement implements a stringent financial and technical framework that creates new employment opportunities, alongside empowering women to grow their role in the Ethiopian economic agenda.”
"At least 30% of the projects which receive this funding will be led by women, while the rest of the funding will be equally distributed between male-led and female-led projects," Al Nowais added
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, indicated that the "agreement not only helps to strengthen Ethiopia’s national economic development, but will also benefit Ethiopian citizens, providing more jobs, more skills, and more specialities, helping those in poverty in Ethiopia.”
