Ethiopia’s textile industry is fast catching up with the likes of Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and other Far East countries. The prospects of advancing to a medium level of industrialization are within sight. Ethiopia with a young labor force of 45 million people has a huge potential in the manufacturing sector. The annual manufacturing growth which is currently 25 per cent is projected to increase gross domestic product fourfold and its share in exports to 50 per cent.

Buoyed by medium term prospects for growth, textile and apparel companies are all set to expand their operations. The flow of foreign direct investment into the country over the six months since last June has risen 22 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. Half a dozen textile parks have either become operational or are under construction.

Eighteen leading apparel and textile companies from the US, China, India, Sri Lanka and six local manufacturers have set up factories at an industrial park in Hawassa. This is a state-of-the-art park. Spread over 1.3 million square meters, it has been designed to employ 60,000 people at full capacity and generate export revenue amounting to a billion dollars. It has 37 factory sheds and its own renewable electricity source. It also employs zero liquid discharge, enabling it to recycle 90 per cent of sewage disposal.