Located in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia enjoys close proximity to Middle Eastern and Asian export markets. The coun- try benefits from rich natural resources and a thriving agricultural sector, however, historic state dominance over the economy has stymied the growth of key industries such as finance and telecommunications. Nevertheless Ethio- pia’s economy has experienced strong, broad-based growth averaging 9.9% per annum over the past decade to 2018, compared to a regional average of 5.4%. Despite its status as the fastest growing economy in Africa, Ethiopia is a poor country, with a GDP per capita of just US$ 790 in 2018.
The country’s infrastructure sector has seen rapid expansion since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came into power in 1991. The decade spanning 1991-2001 saw the creation and expansion of the country’s airport and road networks, and the development of information communication technology (ICT) servic- es. Despite this period of rapid development, Ethiopia still lags behind other countries in the region in terms of quality and quantity of transport and logistics networks. To this end, the government has been investing heavily in state-led infrastructure projects since 2010, drawing on foreign financing and its own foreign exchange reserves. Introduction of large-scale developments, such as the National Highway Network and the Renaissance Dam, have resulted in increasingly unmanageable external debt levels, halting and cancelling a number of planned projects which has, in turn, placed further downward pressure on the local construction industry.