Over 90,700 Jobs Created in Small and Medium Manufacturing Sector Within Six Months
EED (Arba Minch, January 23, 2026)
The Ethiopian Enterprise Development (EED) announced that 90,733 new jobs were created in the small and medium manufacturing enterprise (SME) sector during the first six months of the 2018 Fiscal Year.
EED disclosed this during a six-month performance review meeting held in Arba Minch City, conducted jointly with regional sector bureau heads and other senior officials.
Presenting the performance report, Mr. Kelali W/Gebriel, Chief Executive Officer at EED, stated that the jobs were created through the strengthening of 8,493 existing manufacturing enterprises and the establishment of 2,091 new manufacturing enterprises. He noted that this achievement represents an increase of 30,413 jobs compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.
During the reporting period, EED planned to upgrade 233 small manufacturing enterprises to medium level, but successfully enabled 498 enterprises to graduate. In addition, while the target was to upgrade 22 medium manufacturing enterprises to large-scale level, 24 enterprises successfully made the transition.
Mr. Kelali further reported that although industrial extension services were planned for 4,913 manufacturing enterprises, a total of 7,444 enterprises received the service. Moreover, efforts to enhance the availability of skilled manpower resulted in the training and deployment of 12,674 skilled workers to the manufacturing sector.
The review forum also presented detailed performance results related to market linkage, import substitution, export growth, input and finance accessibility, development and management of production centers, investment attraction, and enhancement of productivity and competitiveness.
The meeting was attended by regional sector bureau heads, deputy bureau heads, planning experts, and members of the EED management team.
#MadeinEthiopia