The European Union committed over €659 million in new financing and support for Ethiopia during the Ethiopia-EU Business Forum, as announced by Jozef Síkela, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, in his keynote address.
The package includes resumed budget support, digital economy investments, EIB loans and an expanded resilience programme, targeting energy access, infrastructure, agriculture and youth skills to drive private sector growth and economic reforms.
Commissioner Síkela highlighted four major initiatives. The EU will resume €140 million in budget support for energy expansion, digital connectivity, healthcare and business climate reforms, rewarding Ethiopia’s governance progress. “This reflects our confidence in Ethiopia’s reform path,” Síkela said. A €150 million Digital Economy Package launches as a Team Europe framework to build fibre optic networks, train youth and enable tech innovation, with ambitions to double the investment; Síkela noted Ethiopia’s young population makes digital transformation essential. The European Investment Bank committed €130 million in loans, with €20 million to Zemen Bank for agribusiness credit and €110 million for rural finance serving households, women and small enterprises to modernize farming and create jobs. The €269 million RISED programme expansion is already connecting 4 million to electricity, laying 2,500 km of fibre and rehabilitating Tigray’s Ashegoda Wind Farm to cut outages by 50% and save 16 GWh annually.
The EU, Ethiopia’s top Horn of Africa trade partner, aims to boost local value retention in coffee, flowers and agriculture through better wages and industries. Next steps include phased disbursements tied to reforms, scaled private investment and stronger market access. “Ethiopia’s growth demands partners who invest for the long term,” Síkela said. “These commitments shape shared prosperity between Europe and Africa’s fastest-growing economy.”
