Ethiopia, Africa’s fastest growing economy, has explored various options of raising capital to finance the development of infrastructure including economic forums and foreign loans. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will host an Sh17.5m per plate dinner to raise money for infrastructure projects.
According to a recent investigation, the fundraising dinner aims to raise $1 billion to finance projects including the redevelopment of Addis Ababa.
Under a three-year initiative, Ahmed’s government wants to transform Addis Ababa by developing green spaces along the 56km river that cuts across the city.
“Prime Minister Abiy sold his watch for $175,000 during a recent event for infrastructure development in Ambo, 100km (60 miles) west of Addis Ababa. About $14m was raised in total,” said Abiy.
Abiy has pushed for wide-scale economic reform in Ethiopia since coming to power last year.