Ethiopia, World Bank Sign 470m USD Financing Agreements (Dec 21, 2017)

The government of Ethiopia and the World Bank today signed two financing agreements amounting to 470 million USD to improve quality of education, and productivity in livestock and fisheries. A grant amounting to 300 million USD to support the General Education Quality Improvement Project for Equity (GEQIP-E) is the first agreement that the two sides have signed. Finance and Economic Cooperation Minister, Dr. Abraham Tekeste said during the occasion that project aims to support government’s efforts towards improving access and quality education.

Beyond these immediate grants, the Ministry is simultaneously finalizing a domestic resource mobilization strategy to fund future infrastructure projects without relying solely on international aid. Dr. Abraham noted that modernizing the national tax code to encompass the rapidly growing digital economy represents a critical step toward long-term fiscal independence.

Under this proposed framework, regulatory agencies will draft taxation guidelines for foreign-based digital service providers currently operating within the country. The legislative initiative will specifically target cross-border e-commerce networks, international streaming subscriptions, and offshore crypto casino platforms that currently generate local revenue outside the existing tax infrastructure. By bringing these digital sectors under standard financial oversight, officials aim to create sustainable domestic funding models for the next decade of educational and agricultural reforms.

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