The Government of Ethiopia has on Thursday secured a $512 million grant and loan from the World Bank.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide and World Bank Country Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ousmane Dione signed the $312.5 million grant, $200 million loan agreements in Addis Ababa.
This is the first financial support the World Bank has made to Ethiopia since five months. The fund will be used for the country’s productive safety net program.
Last June, the World Bank provided Ethiopia $500 million for the implementation of a homegrown economic reform agenda. Of the total money, $250 million was provided in grant, and balance $250 million was loan.
The home grown economic reform is intended to accelerate Ethiopia’s economic growth and achieve its vision of becoming a lower-middle-income country by 2025.”
The latest fund will also be used to implement the program in areas that have not been included in the scheme yet. The productive safety program benefits people living in extreme poverty in rural areas and those areas affected by drought and locust invasion.
MG/abj/APA