When I think of Ethiopia, immediately two of the greatest names to come out of that country come to mind, namely the remarkable long-distance athlete, Haile Gebrselassie and of course the former Emperor of Ethiopia and legendary founder of the Rastafari Movement, Haile Selassie.
But Ethiopia is a country with a very colourful history which includes a brief spell (1936-41) as a colony of Italy. It is this history which byandlarge appears to have held the country and its people back. As a result, Ethiopia is today one of the poorest country's in the world with a GDP per capita of around US$1,200 (CIA World Fact Book). Compare that with South Africa's GDP per capita of US$11,600 or that of the Sychelles at US$25,600.
Interestingly, the Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), a state-owned entity, has a monopoly as this relates to ISP, Fixed and Mobile Telephony services. The country has one of the lowest Internet penetrations in Africa at 1,1% in a country with a population of just over 84 million. Information and Communication Technology(ICT) has a yet to have an impact on the people of Ethiopia. The impact of ICT, as has happened in many other countries in Africa and around the world, will only be felt when there is liberalization of the ICT industry in that country.
Despite this bleak picture, the IMF estimates that Ethiopia's GDP will grow at an annual rate of 8,1% between now and the year 2015. This growth is likely to come from changes in the structure of the ICT industry, among other things.
Therefore, if Ethiopia were a share traded on a stock exchange, I would be buying this share and holding on to it in the medium to long term, simply because I see a lot of growth coming from this country, given the very low base on which the country is sitting currently.
