AHK Eastern Africa Advances German Business Engagement at the EU–Ethiopia Business Forum 2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, Ms Dagmar von Bohnstein, wrapped up an intensive and impactful three days in AddisAbaba, together with 𝐀𝐇𝐊-𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐤 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫, Yordanos Tamiru and 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 & 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭, Carsten Ehlers, representing German business interests at the EU–Ethiopia Business Forum 2026.

The Forum opened with a high-visibility Global Gateway ceremony, where EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑎 €689+ 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐸𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦, 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the European Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat further strengthened their partnership to accelerate the world’s largest free trade area and boost regional and continental economic integration.

Additionally, financing agreements led by the European Investment Bank (EIB) included a €20 million facility with Zemen Bank to expand access to finance for agri-food businesses and smallholder farmers — a strong signal of practical impact.

👉 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 — 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.

Over the past days, AHKEasternAfrica engaged with key stakeholders shaping Ethiopia’s transformation, including:
✅ Jozef Síkela, EU Commissioner
✅ H.E. Semereta Sewasew — State  Ministry of Finance and Economic cooperation 
✅ Mr. zinabu yirga — Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC)
✅ Ambassador Birgitt Ory — German Embassy
✅ Dorothee Hutter — GIZ Ethiopia and Djibouti
✅ Representatives from Baden-Württemberg International (BW_i) and hashtag#Bavaria, including Bavarian State Chanceller, Ninaa Vogel Falahatakar

AHK EA also connected with hashtag#Germancompanies and hashtag#ventures, including:
✅ Krones
✅ Wilo East Africa
✅ ChipChip

What stood out across all engagements was a shared perspective:
✔Ethiopia offers 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 across energy, digital, agribusiness, and industrial development
✔Major investments are translating into 𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭
✔Continued reforms and partnerships are key to long-term growth

A visit to Bole Lemi Industrial Park included a tour of a textile manufacturer exporting to Germany — highlighting Ethiopia’s growing role in global value chains.

The trip concluded with a strategic discussion with Commerzbank on ongoing reforms and emerging opportunities.

Ethiopia rewards those who take a long-term view, building partnerships, 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬, and engaging with resilience.

Many thanks to all partners for the open and constructive dialogue. This visit reinforced why Ethiopia remains a 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 for German and international business.