IFC Investment Climate TF Phase II 2018-24

The program is currently in its final months and there is an ongoing external evaluation which is estimated to be complete by June 2024. The evaluation is expected to highlight impact level changes There were only 4 live projects during the period of the initial 8 projects at inception- Ethiopia doing business. Ethiopia Subnational Investment Climate, Ethiopia Trade Facilitation and Ethiopian Investment Policy and Promotion Ethiopia Doing Business 2017-2023 The project has achieved all of the output outcome targets outlined in the development results framework-2023. IFC managed to successfully implement a wide range of reforms, including a reduction in the number of business activities required to get competency certification as a pre-establishment requirement, from over 300 to 11. One of IFCs major focus areas has been to support the implementation of the projects sustainability plan. IFC also supported the government to organize a Doing Business Reform Steering Committee meeting attended by the 12 respective reform-leading institutions hosted by the Ethiopia Investment Commissions commissioner and deputy commissioner. Ethiopia Sub-National Investment Climate 2018-2023 Several challenges prevented the project from fully accomplishing its planned activities during the last reporting cycle. Continued changes of leadership at both Amhara and Oromia Industry and Investment Bureaus led to yet another shift in internal priorities and as a result postponement of the agro-processing and agri-tech exhibitions and other planned workshops. IFC supported a public-private dialogue (PPD) focused on women investors in the Oromia Region which facilitated a robust exchange of ideas, experiences, and insights among women investors, industry experts, and stakeholders to identify the challenges faced in various sectors with the aim of promoting women investment in the region. 8 gender-specific recommendations in this area were targeted. Only 2 recommendations have been adopted. Ethiopia Trade Facilitation. The project helped to organize a workshop that raised awareness on the entry criteria for operating in the Gada Special Economic Zone (GSEZ) to a select audience. Around 80 logistics actors from the private sector, government counterparts and international organizations participated at the workshop. During the event a presentation was made on investment opportunities in logistics facilities, and the export processing and facilitation area, which included frameworks for genesis of GSEZ, its business and operational framework, and its investment road map. As part of a sustainability plan, the project organized a brainstorming session to help draft a follow-on projects concept. A total of 13 participants from the World Bank, private sector and government counterparts participated at the event and discussed on the key binding constraints, regulatory or administrative, that limit the expansion of private sector involvement in the logistics sector. Ethiopia Investment Policy Phase II 2019-2024 In the period under review 37 investments were registered in the newly opened sectors, under the 2020 Investment Law supported by this project. These investments were in the following areas: data center and cloud services, printing, real estate development, health services and management consultancy. There was an investment commitment of approximately US$707 million, with US$33 million already paid. The project does not claim full attribution for all these generated investments. The degree of attribution and actual investment generated because of the projects contribution will be established by the end evaluation. The special economic zone proclamation, which IFC supported from conception through to the development of the policy white paper, from its start to its final draft and approval by the Ethiopian Investment Board, was tabled before and approved by the Council of Ministers. It now awaits approval by the House of Peoples Representative (parliament) before its implementation commences. Targeted investment promotion has been directed together with Ethiopian investment Commision to Netherlands and the UAE. As part of the lead generation process, IFCs team has delivered a robust list of global leads for outreach. A 500-long list of companies with their full details has been identified. Gender : There has been some attempts to mainstream gender accross all projects, including the indicators such as the number of gender issues included in annual planning of a given department, the percentage of women in leadership or decision-making positions, the number of gender-awareness engagements, and the number of targeted capacity-building exercises for women (and associated budget). Better engagement in the trade facilitation with customs personal. Although there was a target of 8 gender specific recommendations being adopted only 2 recommendations were adopted. In 2023, IC2 has once again exceeded nearly all of its targeted outputs, including the number of individuals trained, policies and procedures introduced, laws passed, and reports and manuals produced. At the outcome level, IC2 has demonstrated a similar trend, surpassing targets for reforms implemented, changes enacted, and the number of sectors opened for investment. Notably, the number of firms benefiting from business reforms has reached 515,000, significantly exceeding the initial target of 20,000

The overall objective is stated broadly and in a non-standard way.  As stated in the most recent proposal (September 2018), the core objective is to: To "push for business and investment climate reforms… consistent with this broad objective [of developing] … a robust private sector" with specific objectives denoted as "Pillars”" ·         Pillar I:  Improving the Doing Business Environment – improving the economy wide investment environment that affects decisions to open and operate a business. ·         Pillar II:  Expanding Market Opportunities – delivering sector and market-specific solutions to allow firms to expand and compete in domestic and international trade. ·         Pillar III:  Investment Facilitation and Export Competitiveness – investment promotion and regulatory reform work on priority sectors including tailored regulatory advocacy on export sectors. Five projects are planned to achieve these overall objectives, each with their own specific objectives: Project 1:      The Sub National Investment Climate project seeks to: a) “strengthen regional investment promotion, retention and expansion in selected/target sectors to be defined in consultation with each regional government; b) enhance regional business service delivery through streamlined business regulatory and tax administration procedures; and c) strengthen inter-agency coordination and public-private dialogue for improved regional investment climate.” Project 2:         Ethiopia Tourism Sector Competitiveness project seeks to “improve the performance of tourism sector in Ethiopia through better management of meetings Conferences and Events (MICE), stopover tourism, and digital marketing.” Project 3:         Ethiopia Doing Business project seeks “to improve Ethiopia’s Business Climate and make it work for all classes and types of business” (“improve Ethiopia’s DTF score by a minimum of 5 points”) Project 4:         Ethiopia Trade Facilitation project seeks to “address trade logistics issues that are holding back trade in Ethiopia.” Project 5:         Investment Policy and Promotion (IPP) project (IPP phase II) seeks to: a) “further consolidate and expand the institutional and legal reforms realized through phase I of the project through the development of supporting policies and institutions for conducive investment policy making and promotion, b) reduce legal and administrative barriers to foreign investment, c) strengthen and broaden targeted investment promotion and facilitation in priority sectors through the use of a value chain approach (target sectors will be defined through further consultation with the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), and d) enhance investment retention and expansion through increased investor confidence and targeted investment climate improvements (including reforms aimed at enhancing export competitiveness of investments).