2merkato

The Indian oil producing Pongamia tree is being marketed under the trademark ‘Vayusap.’ The plant promoted as a Wonder plant is being marketed by the Vayugrid Marketplace Services plc.

The strain being marketed in Ethiopia is a high yield, genetically selected form of the Pongamia plant resistant to a range of negative weather conditions and is tolerant to poor quality soil types according to Vayugrid.  

The oil from the plant has a range of potential uses in the production pharmaceuticals and bio fuels explained Douglas M. Petersen, Chief Executive Officer of Vayugrid Marketplace Services.

The National Insurance Company of Ethiopia registered 25.2 million in profit before taxes for the previous financial year. The profits recorded by the insurer have increased four times over in the last twenty years according to sources.

The company’s before tax returns had been no more than 5 million birr in the past years according to Tewdros Bogale, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Affairs with the NICE.

The insurance company’s net profit after taxes was nearly 18 million birr enabling it distribute 1096 birr per share to its shareholders.

A new center for aviation sector training is to be opened in Ethiopia. The new center, the National Aviation College, is a collaborative venture between the National Airways of Ethiopia and Kenya Aeronautical College.      

The college is intended to cater to the requirements of the Aviation Sector which is in need of skilled manpower.

The institute will launch operations by offering training to ticket sales personnel and travel agents as well as cabin crew noted Captain Abera Lemmi, General Manager for National Airways.

A solar assembly plant to produce a range of solar powered and environmentally conscious products is expected to be launched in Ethiopia in the near future. Among the products that will be produced by the factory will be solar panels with the ability to generate as much as 60 watts of electricity, charge controllers and Light Emitting Diode lamps which are known for being electricity efficient.

An area has already been set aside for an exhibition and training center in the Oromia Regional State according to Samson Tsegaye, Country Director for The Solar Energy Foundation.

The area dubbed the ‘Solar Valley’ is located on 15 thousand square meters of land within the Tatek Industrial Park.
The foundation expects the financing to launch the assembly project to come from solar companies seeking for investment opportunities said Samson.

Samsung electronics is to launch e-learning technology for Ethiopian elementary schools in association with the Ministry of Education.

The electronics company is in the process of conducting a survey of the elementary curriculum to integrate it with its Smart Education Environment technology. The interactive e-learning technology has an estimated 25% coverage in Africa it was said.

The smart school solution is one the best developed technology on offer from Samsung according to Tadewos Awel, Country Manager of Samsung East Africa.

The castor seed development project initiated by Agropeace plc has launched a full scale plantation on six hectares of land according to sources. The agro investment company established by six Israeli investors aims to produce export quality seeds in three month cycles.

Agropeace has been conducting a pilot for the project in Somali Region within local communities for the past four years. The pilot project involved testing a variety of castor seed types with 46 people representing 22 households in the community taking part in the project said Anteneh Gelaye, Chief Operation Manger for the Pilot Project.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Mines is in the process of facilitating visas for the Tullow drilling crew that will oversee the launch of drilling processes by the company in January. The crew is expected to be composed of 20 primarily Polish experts.

Tullow is preparing to launch drilling activity on its concession in the Southern Omo Valley according to its tentative program said Sinkensh Ejigu, State Minister for Mines.

The schedule set for drilling may be changed if the visa processes prove to take longer than expected she said.

The official representatives of the Coca Cola Company in Ethiopia the East African Bottling Company has received land from the Bahir Dar city government to construct its plant in Ethiopia. The project is expected to cost a total of 800 million Ethiopian birr.

It is expected that construction work on the plant at Bahir Dar will begin early next year and is to be completed in a year. The site for the new plant was selected after a survey conducted by a team from South Africa which studied the availability of drainage. Links to the road network in the area and access to water supplies according to sources.

East African Bottling has signed an agreement for the construction of the plant with Elmo-Olindo a construction company previously engaged for rehabilitation and expansion efforts undertaken by the Coca Cola producer.

The revenue earned from gold exports in the first quarter of the Ethiopian fiscal year is lower than anticipated according to a report from the Ministry of Mines. Gold exports were affected by lower than projected production by traditional miners and MIDROC holding on to 90% of its production over the period in anticipation of better prices.

The Ministry of Mines had anticipated 61 million US dollars in revenue from 1361.3 kilograms of gold to be produced by the Legedembi mine operated by MIDROC. The mine has an estimated annual production of 4500 kilograms of gold and 1195 kilograms were produced in the first quarter but the company sold just 10.8% of this production due to unfavorable pricing on the market it was said. 

The 8th African Development Forum is to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The ADF-VIII conference will be held from the 23rd to the 25th of October under the theme of ‘Governing and Harnessing Natural Resources for Africa's Development.’

The forum is a biennial event established in 1999 to serve as a platform for multi-stakeholder discussion, debate, and for initiating strategies towards the development of Africa.

The forum is a cooperative effort of the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission and other partners in an effort to establish an African-driven development agenda reflecting consensus and leading to specific programs.