Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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(Everything But Arms) agreement, given its position as a Least Developed Country qualification
for EBA (Everything But Arms) agreements.
Economic Performance
Table 5-22 – Bole Lemi Free Zone Economic Performance
Economic Performance Indicator Performance Summary
Foreign Direct Investment (USD) Total FDI thus far into the Bole Lemi Industrial Park has
reached over USD 41 million122.
Number of Companies within
SEZ
Information not available
Direct and Indirect Job Creation Over 13,000 jobs have been filled since opening of the park
Export Values ($) Exports from Bole Lemi for the 2nd half of 2016 and 1st half
of 2017 amounted to approximately USD 24 million
Total Annual Output ($) Information not available
Source: Various (see footnotes). BuroHappold Analysis 2017
Bole Lemi has successfully attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through investors, such as
the George Shoes Group and Nitton Apparels Manufacturing from China, Ashiton Apparel and
Vestis Garment from India, Jay Jay Garment from Sri Lanka and Shintis Garment from South
Korea.
Looking at Ethiopia more broadly, there have been some huge growth in the economy, including
in the attraction of FDI and the growth of the manufacturing sector. This growth is mainly due
to country-wide structural reforms and it is too early to judge the performance of the industrial
parks in contributing to this.
122 Figures provided by Ethiopian Investment Commission – September 2017