Investing in Ethiopia is ideal as it is a gateway to the rest of Africa, Investment Commissioner Hanna Arayaselassie said.
Opening the Ethio-Turkiye Investment and Trade Promotion Forum, which took place in Addis Ababa today, the commissioner noted that Turkiye is one of the most important sources of investment for Ethiopia.
Citing the longstanding diplomatic relations between Ethio-Turkiye, she stated that business and investment between the countries have shown incredible growth over the past 20 years.
Turkish companies have invested a collective investment of 2 billion USD and created jobs for more than 20,000 Ethiopians, it was learned.
According to the commissioner, Turkiye continues to be a very important investment partner for Ethiopia, which is an ideal destination for investment.
Ethiopia is a notable investment destination with more than 120 million people and a very large and growing domestic market, Hanna pointed out, adding that the country is also a gateway to the rest of Africa.
Turkiye A
mbassador to Ethiopia, Berk Baran said ”we know that this is the third largest diplomatic city in the world with 128 embassies.”
These offer vast opportunities as an entry into the entire continent, he noted.
Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations President, Melaku Ezezew said the volume of trade and investment between Ethiopia and Turkiyeis has been growing steadily.
He stated that both countries provide comparative advantage, with the large and untapped investment potential in a number of sectors in Ethiopia where Turkiye companies can make investments or do business.
The president added that Turkiye companies have advanced technologies and best practices that can be shared with Ethiopian counterparts.
Turkiye companies that took part in today’s forum came from Sakarya, the seventh business city in the country, to share their experiences and assess the investment opportunities in Ethiopia.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
The Atlantic Lithium Company has advanced feasibility studies for the revamp of the defunct Saltpond Ceramics Company in the Mfantseman Municipality, Mr Antwi Boasiako, the Social Performance Manager of Atlantic Lithium Ghana has said.
The move, he indicated formed part of Atlantic Lithium’s diversification and empowerment strategy to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of the area for mutual gain.
Aside from job creation, reducing poverty and provision of social amenities, he said the Ceramics factory would maintain a balance of imported and exported ceramic goods.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said the development was in tune with the traditional authorities’ request for lithium for factories to accelerate development beyond the 15-year operational span of the company.
‘The Company is committed to diversification, and we are doing a feasibility study to explore the potential that can be harnessed to move into industrial activities outside lithium as requested by t
he traditional authorities.
‘One of such potential factories is the revamping of the existing ceramic factory, which has been turned into a paper packaging company.’
He said the abundant feldspar deposits in Ghana, particularly in the Mfantseman Municipality as raw material for ceramic would be the anchor for setting up the factory.
Feldspar is used as a fluxing agents to form a glassy phase at low temperatures and as a source of alkalis and alumina in glazes.
They improve the strength, toughness, and durability of the ceramic body, and cement the crystalline phase of other ingredients, softening, melting, and wetting other batch constituents.
‘Atlantic Lithium is optimistic about the buoyancy of the ceramic factory because one of the key things for setting up a factory is constant raw material supply. If you have an industry without raw materials, then you have failed from day one.
‘Fortunately, we have it in abundance,’ he said.
Touching on some interventions to empower the communities, he said per t
he mining lease agreement, Atlantic Lithium Company was expected to pay one per cent of its revenue into a Community Development Fund.
The amount would be utilised for the development of communities impacted by its operations and work to establish a chemical plant for processing lithium.
‘There is potential for local industrialisation from the application of the Community Development Fund.
‘This will encourage the growth of other industries and sectors such as construction, transportation and hospitality,’ he stated.
Mr Boasiako said the company acknowledged the impact of mining on host communities and was committed to ensuring the communities as well as Ghanaians who were by law the owners of the minerals benefited from them.
He pledged the company’s readiness to adhere strictly to the country’s mining laws and the agreement reached with the government and ensure it engaged in responsible, sustainable, and environmentally sound mining practices.
After seven years of exploratory activities, all is set f
or the mining of lithium to start in commercial quantities, with improved terms for the country.
The $250-million project, located at Ewoyaa in the Mfantseman Municipality is expected to commence production by 2025 for 15 years.
The government inked a deal with Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited, which includes a royalty rate of 10 per cent and a free carried interest of 13 per cent incorporates new and enhanced terms intended to ensure that the country benefited, optimally, from the mineral.
Source: Ghana News Agency