By FikreJesus Amahazion
Nestled in the turbulent Horn of Africa (HOA) region, Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent modern nation-state and second most populous.[i] The second poorest country in the world according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multidimensional Poverty Index,[ii] Ethiopia consistently ranks extremely low upon a variety of socioeconomic, development, and human rights indicators.[iii] Recently however, Ethiopia has experienced economic growth – making it amongst “Africa’s best performing economies.”[iv] This development reiterates the Ethiopian government’s lofty ambitions to attain “middle-income status by 2020.”[v] The validity, sustainability, and possible ramifications of Ethiopia’s purported and ambitious economic transformation in the near future – which could prove beneficial domestically and regionally – merits closer analysis. Read more …