Sabato 17 aprile e’ stato inaugurato il secondo punto vendita del cluster di lavorazione della pelle: LOMI nell’ambito nel progetto “ULCE” finanziato dall’Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo (AICS).
L’inaugurazione segue il lancio della nuova collezione di scarpe disegnata e realizzata da imprenditori e imprenditrici del pellame etiopi avvenuta il 10 aprile ad Addis Abeba presso la sede del cluster EIFCCOS
Queste due iniziative si inseriscono all’interno di una più vasta strategia messa in atto dall’AICS per sostenere lo sviluppo del settore privato e delle imprese attive nel settore del pellame e del tessile in Etiopia volte a supportare la creazione d’impiego per giovani e donne a contrasto del fenomeno della migrazione irregolare.

Il nuovo punto vendita LOMI è localizzato in una zona commerciale di alto livello della citta’ di Addis Abeba, e propone accessori in pelle come borse ed abbigliamento realizzato artigianalmente da piccole imprenditrici etiopi che si sono riunite in forma di cluster produttivo – insieme di piccole imprese in forma cooperativa – nel sobborgo di Kirkos, ad Addis Abeba. Le imprenditrici di LOMI hanno instaurato una collaborazione produttiva per espandere il proprio mercato attraverso un approccio di sviluppo economico basato sull’esperienza dei cluster.

Il contributo di AICS ha permesso a nove imprenditrici - ognuna con un’attività in proprio e con un massimo di 15 dipendenti - di poter espandere il bacino di vendita per i propri prodotti, attraverso la creazione di una rete commerciale comune, in modo tale da promuovere gli investimenti congiunti oltre alla condivisione di nuove tecniche produttive e manageriali.

EIFCCOS (Ethio International Footware Cluster Cooperatives) è un altro cluster di piccoli imprenditori ed imprenditrici che ha sede a Yeka, ad est della citta’, dove e’ stato realizzato un impianto produttivo dotato di macchinari di precisione e ad alta efficienza, specializzato nella realizzazione di scarpe di qualità a prezzi accessibili per il mercato nazionale.

Le piccole imprese di LOMI e EIFCCOS sono state supportate tramite il progetto “ULCE-UNIDO Leather Cluster Empowerment” finanziato dall’Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo – AICS, che, in continuita’ con precedenti iniziative realizzate dall’ United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) attraveso risorse della Cooperazione Italiana, ha l’obiettivo di promuovere l’uguaglianza di genere ed incrementare il potere economico delle donne imprenditrici nel settore manifatturiero della pelle.

On 6^th December 2019 the closing ceremony of the project “Improved access to sanitation and hygiene services in Addis Ababa” was held in Addis Ababa. The project was financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented in six schools of the Sub-city Nefas Silk by the Italian NGOs Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (CISP), Comitato Collaborazione Medica (CCM), and Centro Italiano Aiuti all’Infanzia (CIAI). The intervention of CISP, CCM and CIAI focused on the following expected outcomes:

• CISP
  • Improving access to water. The project benefited from the collaboration of the Parents, Students and Teachers Associations – PSTA which were trained, and informed about the interdependence of health, hygiene and health, the importance of a balanced diet rich in fresh products (school gardens) and the sustainability of the activities carried out. The water- and sanitation-related activities were attended by well-trained groups of people from the PSTA, as well as by youth clubs thus contributing to raising the awareness and sense of ownership of the young people.
• CCM
  • Improving environmental health and the personal hygiene practices of students and families, with a view to promoting sexual and reproductive health and menstrual hygiene and to broadening the knowledge and sharing information among teachers, students and community on these topics.
• CIAI
  • Improving environmental health, personal hygiene practices of students and the nutrition condition at institutional level, in favor of students and families; as well as improving the functioning and management of school infrastructures.

Moreover, workshops on income generating activities such as the production of soaps and reusable pads were carried out and school gardens were set up within the scope of the project.

The project was run jointly with the Embassy of France in Ethiopia- Development Cooperation Office (AF-DCO) which contributed by building infrastructures such as toilets and showers and spaces used as canteens in selected schools, by involving Parents, Students and Teachers Associations – PSTA already present and active within the school administrations. The infrastructures were built by using recycled materials (tires and plastic bottles) following an innovative technique invented in France and already applied in Senegal and Morocco. Six students of vocational training colleges were involved in the realization of the infrastructures with the aim to teach state-of-the-art sustainable and innovative construction techniques to young students.

The best practices of the project will be replicated in ten schools of the Sub-city Nefas Silk-Lafto through an initiative financed by AICS and implemented by UNOPS. The initiative is currently in progress and aims to create sanitation and hygiene facilities applying sustainable construction techniques and involving six students of the vocational training colleges.

On 9-12 November 2019, the Addis Ababa Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation actively participated with a booth in the 11^th All-African Leather Fair organized by the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association (ELIA) and the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI) in Addis Ababa, showcasing its work and commitment to further developing the leather sector in Ethiopia.

The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) is currently funding two projects contributing to upgrade the Ethiopian leather industry with a special focus on leather footwear and handcrafted leather goods, as well as supporting the Ethiopian Government to meet the targets of creating favorable conditions for small and medium enterprises to network and strengthen market linkages with medium and large scale manufacturing industries.

• Phase 2 of the Technical Assistance Project for the Up-Grading of the Ethiopian Leather and Leather Products Industry implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), partnering with the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI);
• UNIDO Leather Clusters Empowerment in Addis Ababa – ULCE implemented by the Italian Civil Society Organization CVM – Comunità Volontari per il Mondo, jointly with the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI) and the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association (ELIA).

With one of the largest livestock population in Africa, Ethiopia’s leather industry is currently one of the leading manufacturing sectors in the Country and has a huge potential to create more job opportunities. In addition, Ethiopia’s hides & skins are internationally known for their natural qualities of clarity, flexibility, strength, thickness and compact texture.

The fifth Conference of African Ministries responsible for Civil Registration (CRVS – Civil Registration and Vital Statistics) was held in Lusaka on October 14-18. The main objective of the Conference was to discuss possible ways to adopt a holistic, integrated and innovative approach for the accelerated improvement of civil registration and vital statistics systems (CRVS) and national identification management systems.

The conference was organised in two main sessions: (1) a three-day introductory meeting which brought together experts to exchange ideas and draw technical conclusions on the improvement of the civil registration system with the aim of identifying possible solutions and recommendations; (2) a two-day meeting of African ministries whereby the afore-mentioned recommendations were endorsed, and African governments reiterated their commitment to strengthening the CRVS and the importance of creating a working group on the link between CRVS and digital identity documents.

The participation of AICS Addis Ababa to the Conference contributed to an in-depth analysis of the theme and facilitated an exchange with other development partners with whom potential strategic partnership activities, especially on the vital event registration system in Ethiopia, were explored.

From 23rd to 27th September 2019 we hosted the course "Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Cooperation Projects" organized by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and ENEA, in collaboration with Human Foundation.

The course is one of the several workshops organized at the premises of AICS’ field offices with the aim of:

• Setting up a platform for stakeholders working in the field of energy in the countries where the course is held;
• Raising awareness of the most efficient technologies in the use of renewable sources and promoting their use;
• Promoting the adoption of policies supporting the use of renewable energies; private sector investments in the production and distribution of energy; access to clean and renewable energies.

A session on the impact investing approach was held by Human Foundation with a view to promoting its adoption in the implementation of projects linked to renewable energies.

Furthermore, AICS Addis Ababa presented the project “Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood” (DRSLP) implemented in the Afar Region. Four solar-powered mini grids will be shortly developed in the framework of the DRSLP project to supply power to the centres for the transformation and conservation of animal products value chain, thus guaranteeing income opportunities for the pastoral communities and financial viability of the solar panel plants.

On 19 September 2019 the Mekelle Garment College - Centre of Excellence was officially inaugurated within the framework of the project “Capacity building and job creation for youth and women in the textile sector in migration prone areas of Ethiopia”, funded by AICS with a contribution of 2.5 MEUR and implemented by UNIDO in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute (ETIDI). The projects aims to support the Government of Ethiopia in the creation of decent and productive job opportunities in the emerging national Textile and Garment (T&G) industry, with a special focus on women and youth from Tigray where significant fluxes of origin and transit of migrants take place. The Centre of Excellence will provide high technical and managerial quality trainings to facilitate the employability of basic operators and middle management staff in the factories operating in the T&G sector through Public Private Partnership approach.