United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Ethiopian Government inked a project agreement for USD 28 million to advance Ethiopian textile industry.
Ethiopian State Minister for Finance Semereta Sewasew, and UNIDO representative in Ethiopia, Calabro Aurelia Patrizia, signed the agreement.
Semereta expressed during the occasion that her government's ongoing and planned efforts to strengthen the manufacturing sector and replace imports – an industrialization journey expected to be backed by UNIDO's commitment.
Both parties revealed that the project will be carried out by the Ethiopian Textile Industries Development Institute over the next five years, with a focus on promoting a circular economy in the textile and apparel industry through the introduction of resource-efficient technologies. The project will be funded in partnership with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), of which UNIDO will contribute USD3 million.
To reduce losses and optimize benefits in the production process, as well as to strengthen institutional and regulatory capacity in the textile and apparel industry, the project is also anticipated to concentrate on recycling waste in the sector.