http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6136010.stm







Ethiopia asks diaspora to work at home







Mr Tadiwos fled Ethiopia's communist regime
BBC News is investigating the changing face of business in Africa, a continent once regarded as a high-risk location for investors but now increasingly a place to do business.
Amber Henshaw reports from Addis Ababa on how the return of Ethiopians living abroad may help secure the nation's future prosperity.
After 23 years in America, Tadiwos Belete decided to sell his two swanky hair salons in Boston, Massachusetts, to return to his homeland, Ethiopia.
Mr Tadiwos used to charge more than $100 (£52) for a haircut in Newbury Street, but at the Boston Day Spa in Addis Ababa he asks for just $11.
So why did he want to return to one of the world's poorest countries?
"I wanted to be part of the development of Ethiopia," Mr Tadiwos explains.
"Ethiopia needs its own people to come back with a vision to create a new style of business in areas that have not been developed before," he says.
Mr Tadiwos says he saw a gap in the market and wanted to fill it.
The 43-year-old fled from Ethiopia to Sudan when he was just 17 because of the communist regime that had overthrown Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.
At the time, there were many others like him. Now, Mr Tadiwos says people feel that the time is right to return to Ethiopia.

Numbers game
The government estimates that between 1.5 million and 2 million Ethiopians are living abroad in places as far afield as Sweden, Canada and the Middle East.






The other side of Addis Ababa - poverty remains rife
It is keen to encourage as many Ethiopians as possible to come back and invest because it sees the diaspora's involvement as key to development, says acting head of the Ethiopian Expatriate Affairs Department Fesseha Tesfu.
Accurate figures are difficult to come by, but government officials estimate that over the last five years more than $800m has been invested in Ethiopia by the diaspora.
Mr Fesseha says the diaspora is investing in a range of sectors from agriculture and real estate to tourism and leisure.
There are no doubts that major hurdles exist for investors from the diaspora.
Critics complain about the red tape and complicated bureaucracy that they have to contend with.
It is a problem that the government is aware of and is trying tackle.
"Of course there are a lot of problems with the bureaucratic system which we have to improve," Mr Fesseha says. "The government is focused on it - it is a priority."
Sweeter deals
In fact, the government is offering a range of incentives for people to come back and invest.
They include tax holidays, cheap land and duty-free importation of equipment. The government also wants the diaspora to work with its missions overseas.
"We want them to sell Ethiopian goods overseas, to be partners to find markets for our products, to identify investors in their areas and to identify resources because they have networks wherever they are," Mr Fessehan says.







There are a lot of sectors for people to invest in

Tadiwos Belete
After last year's election, when post-polling violence left more than 193 civilians and six police officers dead, some observers feared that the political situation might put investors off.
So far there is no statistical evidence to support this.
The government is optimistic that investment by the diaspora is an area of growth for Ethiopia.
Mr Tadiwos certainly agrees that the opportunity here is great.
"There are a lot of sectors for people to invest in," the hair stylist explains. "The reason is that until now no one came back, there was little investment - now every direction you go to there is a great opportunity."

Unfortunately they do make it very hard for us to invest in our country. Unfortunately I don't have an Ethiopian passport (dual citizenship not allowed) and had to use my mothers name to buy a land a few years back, so now i have a home over there yet it's not even in my name, i also want to buy the two houses next door to mine which i can do but for double the price unless again i use my mothers name. Bloddy frustrating dealing with them, why would you need a piece of paper to tell you that i am Ethiopian when i clearly look like one?(i kiss my teeth hard here as i am cutting down on using swear words :P).

My dad's company alsotried for many yearsto start importing Ethiopian goods, spent plenty money yet they got the run around and after many wasted years he gave up.

Whether they like it or not i am going to own as much asset as i can afford in "my country", i just wish instead of talking they would make the processeasier for the faint hearted.

Abissinia wrote:

Quote:

Unfortunately they do make it very hard for us to invest in our country. Unfortunately I don't have an Ethiopian passport (dual citizenship not allowed) and had to use my mothers name to buy a land a few years back, so now i have a home over there yet it's not even in my name, i also want to buy the two houses next door to mine which i can do but for double the price unless again i use my mothers name. Bloddy frustrating dealing with them, why would you need a piece of paper to tell you that i am Ethiopian when i clearly look like one? (i kiss my teeth hard here as i am cutting down on using swear words :P). My dad's company alsotried for many yearsto start importing Ethiopian goods, spent plenty money yet they got the run around and after many wasted years he gave up. Whether they like it or not i am going to own as much asset as i can afford in "my country", i just wish instead of talking they would make the processeasier for the faint hearted.

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Unfortunately that is how things are in Africa. That is why I lament the lack of vision of our elected leaders. According to the World Bank, African nations make it harder for entrepreneurs to succeed than other parts of the world. If you want to start a business in Mozambique, it takes 153 days to register a business, with a total of 14 separate steps. In Angola it takes more than 360 days to obtain a business license. Our governments in Africa are dead seton discouraging businesses and entrepeneurships and they do that in the amount of paper work one has to filland all forms of ridiculous taxes.

The main reason why doing business is difficult is because the government officials in charge are corrupt and asks the question "What am I going to gain from your business, rather than what is the nation going to gain" and they want to gain from bribes and toline their pockets.

Nevertheless we must not give up but we must work to change the system from within. I aplaud your efforts abs, of trying to do something in your country. You seem to be interested in real estate development.

Abissinia wrote:

MI IZ LOOKIN' FI GET A PROPATY INNA ETHOPIA AN' SETTLE DUNG DEH SO FI GOOD! IF YU WAAN HOOK UP WID I AND I JES PM ME YU NAME AN' NOOMBA AND WE CAN MEK DE NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS FI MOVE BACK TU DI LAND OF SELASSIE I AN' BREEDNUFF PICKNEY AN' SMOKE WI 'OMEGROWN, SEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!

RUDE BERRY wrote:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bighairlolbighairlolblkdevillol

Lol!!!! is this Ras Berry? How many Pickney do you want, I thought you already had fifty (54 ) all-over Africa, one for each Country? Man you made me bust out laughing. Abs is already taken, so you will have to look for some-one else to settle with in the land of Selasssie I.