The Economist Events is pleased to announce that His Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia has been confirmed to speak at the Ethiopia Summit to be held on October 28th and 29th, 2015 at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa. The Economist Events tackles issues with a forward-looking, uniquely global perspective. They aim to create events for the people who are passionate about the issues that define the world. Having wrapped up its five year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) that saw agricultural exports grow by 9% in the first three quarters of 2013/2014 and the manufacturing sector grow by 11.4% in the same period; Ethiopia is now launching its second five year plan. The Ethiopia Summit will be taking place at the opportune time to explore what more can be done to help the country achieve its full potential in alignment with its solid economic growth. The Ethiopian economy has experienced strong growth over the past decade. This is due to its Expansion in some of the sectors. This economic growth has led to reduction in poverty, in both urban and rural areas. Tremendous progress as well has been made in regard to gender parity in terms of education, HIV/AIDS, and malaria treatments. Organized under the theme "Driving continued growth" the summit will bring together more than 150 of the country's leading policy-makers and business leaders with international executives active or interested in expanding in Ethiopia to explore opportunities and tackle challenges. The challenges include: what are Ethiopia's future growth prospects? Is the state-led development model sustainable? What are the challenges currently faced by the private sector? What opportunities exist for private equity firms looking to enter the Ethiopian market? The events sponsors include: -Ericsson—Silver sponsor, Ericsson is the driving force behind the Networked Society – a world leader in communications technology and services. -Standard Bank—Silver sponsor, the largest African bank by assets, with a unique footprint across 20 African countries. -European Investment Bank—Exhibitor sponsor, The EIB is the European Union's bank. The only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. -Ethiopian Airlines—Official airline, a member of the International Air Transport Association and of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). The airline is a Star Alliance member since December 2011. -251 Communications—Official PR agency, 251 Communications has a philosophy driven by the importance of integrating cultural trends with contemporary branding and advertising strategies. Along with His Excellency Prime Minister Desalegn, the summit will feature speakers and panellists from government and industry including: -HE Dr Arkebe Oqubay, Minister and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; -Greg Dorey, British Ambassador to Ethiopia and British Permanent Representative to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa -Tewolde Gebre Mariam, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines among 10 more others from different industries including African Development Bank.
