U.S. to Help Boost Business Competitiveness -- In Ethiopia

A $20 million contract to spark "private sector competitiveness" in Ethiopia has been awarded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor reported earlier this year, the agency's Finance and Business Services (FaBS) Project seeks to increase Ethiopian industry's access to financing in order to drive "sustainable economic growth"while reducing poverty  (Monitor, April 26, 2012).

CARANA Corp., an Arlington, Virginia-based consulting company, will carry out the project for USAID over the next five years. CARANA in October separately secured a $12 million USAID contract to execute the Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT) program, whose goal "is to support the Nigerian government's efforts to expand trade domestically... and improve its efficiency so that trade, particularly in agricultural products, can provide inclusive economic growth and development of Nigeria."

Source document: Contract award #AID-663-C-13-00001

FOR MORE REGIONAL COVERAGE, SEE THE MONITOR'S AFRICA PAGE AND ETHIOPIA PAGE.

FOR FURTHER REPORTING ON THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S USAID PAGE.