Currently Ethiopia’s economy seems to be at a crossroads. Due to the unrest that began in the state of Oromia and spread throughout the country, and the existing ethnic conflict in some parts of Ethiopia, people seem to be losing hope in the new government bit by bit. Massive amounts of capital are fleeing out of the country. If this situation is not controlled in a timely manner, and urgent action is not taken, irreversible physical, social, economic crises might be on the horizon.

The aftermath of the on-going reform that Abiy Ahmed (PhD) embarked on will be an assortment of opportunities and downturns as far as the local construction industry is concerned. While the Prime Minister’s anti-corruption moves, including his intolerance towards sub-standard infrastructure development works is highly appreciated, it appears that the costs of underestimating the effect of the fiscal policy on construction projects might ultimately outweigh the anticipated benefits of his administration’s position.

Recently, the mayor of Addis Ababa appealed to real estate developers to cooperate with his administration in its effort to manage the housing problem of the city which is becoming critical social and economic problem. Actually housing is a national problem in almost all the cities and towns of Ethiopia . As a study published in 2010 indicated, in Addis Ababa alone there was a need for between 350, 000 to 450, 000 housing units over the next 10 years. Coupled with this, the additional demand that has been created over the years makes the housing problem a real burning issue.

MILAN – The global economy is undergoing very large structural shifts, driven by three megatrends. One is the digital transformation of the foundations on which economies are built and run. Another is the growing purchasing power and economic strength of emerging economies, and China in particular. Lastly, there are broad-based political-economy trends, which include rising nationalism, various forms of populism, political and social polarization, and a possible breakdown of the multilateral framework within which the global economy has functioned since World War II.