Export promotion and sustainability in Ethiopia

Strengthening of the private sector through targeted association development in the horticultural sector.

With its many years of experience, the bbw Group supports the development of associations and sectors in the country. The partner EHPEA (Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association) is developed and professionalized with targeted consulting and support services. Through the development of services and further training for the member companies, German commitment contributes to the promotion of exports and job security in the country.

Export as an opportunity for development

Ethiopia is one of the largest and most populous countries in Africa. As a traditional agricultural country, it has a comparatively underdeveloped industry. Exports of raw materials and products from agriculture and horticulture are therefore currently important pillars of the country's economic development and source of income. The horticulture sector in particular, apart from generating export revenues from cut flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables, contributes to the country's food security. At the same time, this very labor-intensive sector is an important factor for employment and development, especially in rural areas. 

In addition to Europe and Germany, the target markets for the products are the USA, Asia and the immediate neighboring countries in Africa.

International know-how is in demand

For many years, Ethiopia's exporting horticultural industry has been characterized by international investments (e.g. from Holland, the USA and Israel), which, however, also go hand in hand with corresponding consultation and know-how transfer at company level. 

Through the Import Promotion Desk (IPD), implemented by sequa and funded by the BMZ, the association and selected member companies have been developing their export capacity to Europe for several years.

In the first years of the project, internal processes and professional organizational management were significantly improved; for example, a business management system was introduced; in addition, a lobby strategy and a corporate social responsibility strategy were developed. Furthermore, EHPEA's public relations has gone through a modernization process. In this context, they innovated the website, created a new logo and produced a bilingual image film for the horticultural sector in Oromia. A major success of the first project phase was also the accreditation of the association's own training center, which will be further developed in the second phase. 

Priorities in the coming years will be to strengthen performance capacity and financial sustainability. Special attention will be constantly paid to the fields of digitization and innovation

The project started in November 2017 and is designed to run until December 2023. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through sequa. An Ethiopian project coordinator in the Association office in Addis Abeba coordinates all project activities on site.

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