Businesses, PM’s Office Positive to Deal with Protest Damage

Arkebe Qoubay, special advisor to the Prime Minister, met with the businesses whose properties were damaged in relation to the unrest over the past few weeks.

Various proposals were discussed, including improving the equity share readjustment with foreign direct investments, compensation in part and extending duty free privileges.

The meeting was a follow-up to various other sectoral-based discussions, and a general meeting with the Ethiopian Investment Commission officials on Tuesday.

The meeting, which started hours after the scheduled 1pm, was not as disappointing as its beginning, as participants took a promising message home.

“It was a promising engagement, with practical plans to curb the setback for us and the country at large,” a representative of a flower farm from the Amhara region, told Fortune.

A ‘comprehensive approach’ is what the Ethiopian Investment Commission, which is spearheading the initiative to support the businesses in getting back on their feet, calls it.

“A multi-layered study group and taskforce is working on setting up comprehensive and sustainable solutions,” said an official from the Commission.

He further noted that the principle is not guided by liability-damage–compensation, but rather mitigating the damage both at the business and country level in general.

Included in the proposals is direct financial support to be mobilised by the Development Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). The bank has dispatched an assessment and fact finding mission to the ground.

Negotiations have started with the NBE to revise the 50-50 equity share proportion set for FDI’s.

“This is the preliminary proposal tabled for the NBE, and might take a while before a decision is reached,” an industry source told Fortune.

Amidst of all the furore so far, not a single body has disclosed an exhaustive national damage assessment.

Insurance companies are receiving claims, however, despite the fact that no insurer in the country has sold out a policy that covers damage instigated by civil and political unrest.

Nib Insurance has so far received a claim request for five vehicles and machineries, while Nile has only received three claims so far.

“At this point, nothing is certain and it’s a testing period for the industry,” commented an industry expert.

Policies that cover riots and political unrest are not common in a setting where the industry is so young. Experts, however, see this turning point as a landmark for a changing industry, which will soon include such policies.

Leaders in the industry share a different picture for the industry.

The Association of Insurers too conducted a meeting on the issue.

“In an industry that already has problems, reaching a consensus is unthinkable, but the best options were tabled, including avoiding selling such policies immediately,” a participant told Fortune. “Nothing is certain.”

The recently opened office of African Trade Insurance in the country was another game changer, identified as an opportunity by the officials and industry players.


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