The Government of Ethiopia and Alibaba Group Sign Agreements to Establish eWTP Ethiopia Hub
25.11.2019 11:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Today H. E. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, and Alibaba Group Director and Ant Financial Services Group Chairman and CEO Eric Jing witnessed the signing of three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the Ethiopian Government and Alibaba establishing an eWTP Hub in Ethiopia. The eWTP (electronic world trade platform) Hub is intended to enable cross-border trade, provide smart logistics and fulfillment services, assist Ethiopian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach China and other markets, and provide talent training.
Ethiopia aims to build a dynamic and growing digital economy that contributes significantly to overall economic growth in the country. eWTP is an Alibaba-led multi-stakeholder global initiative promoting public-private dialogue in order to support more inclusive global trade which uses technology and policy innovation to provide greater opportunities for SMEs, women and youth. Ethiopia is the second country in Africa to establish an eWTP hub, and this new partnership builds upon the success of other eWTP partnerships in Asia (China and Malaysia), Europe (Belgium) and Africa (Rwanda) over the past two years. As the number of eWTP Hubs increases, it is hoped that trade will increase between the Hubs, providing new opportunities for their merchants in the global economy.
H. E. Minister for Innovation and Technology Getahun Mekuria said: “Today’s signing of the Ethiopia eWTP Hub is an important step in the development of a digital economy in Ethiopia. This engagement will greatly contribute to trade facilitation and open markets to SMEs not only in Ethiopia but in the wider region. We look forward to continue working with Alibaba Group and CCCI to realize the objectives of the platform which has the potential to transform the lives of many.”
“It is an honor to partner with the government of Ethiopia to establish the eWTP Ethiopia Hub,” said Eric Jing, Alibaba Group Director and Ant Financial Services Group Chairman and CEO. “We will continue to support the creation of a more inclusive, digitally-enabled global economy, where small businesses can participate in global trade. We look forward to working together with entrepreneurs and SMEs from Ethiopia and other African nations to seize the opportunities provided by the digital era.”
The first major initiative for the eWTP partnership in Ethiopia will be the development of a multifunction digital trade hub to serve as a gateway for Ethiopian products to China, a center for cross-border e-commerce and trade within Africa, and a training center. China Commodities City International (CCCI) will partner with Alibaba in the development of the eWTP Hub. The Alibaba Business School will implement the capacity building and training portion of the partnership which consists of a number of programs, including specialized programs for Ethiopian entrepreneurs, business leaders and university lecturers.
The vision of eWTP is to develop new partnerships, technology and policies to enable more inclusive global trade. The eWTP initiative was accepted as a major policy recommendation of the Business 20 (B20) and officially included in the 2016 G20 Summit Leaders’ Communique.
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.
About the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ethiopia
The Ministry of Innovation, led by H. E. Minister Getahun Mekuria, aims to foster innovation and a technology enabled ecosystem that will lead Ethiopia to prosperity.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191125005273/en/
Contact information
Alibaba Group
Maja Hauke
International Corporate Affairs
maja.hauke@alibaba-inc.com
0044 7534 016659
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
DNP Invests in Rapidus to Support the Establishment of Mass Production for Next-Generation Semiconductors27.2.2026 09:18:00 EET | Press release
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP, TOKYO:7912) today announced that it has participated in Rapidus Corporation’s funding round as one of the round investors. This strategic funding initiative supports Rapidus’ plan to steadily progress from its current R&D phase to mass production of 2nm (10⁻⁹ meters) logic semiconductors by 2027. Through this initiative, DNP will advance the development and mass production of EUV lithography photomasks and support Rapidus as it establishes a mass production system for 2nm & next-generation semiconductors. Background In recent years, the rise in energy consumption, in line with increased data generation, has become a challenge, driving demand for next-generation semiconductors capable of improving device performance and reducing power consumption. Next-generation semiconductors manufactured using EUV lithography enable the formation of finer patterns on silicon wafers compared to currently available technologies. This in turn is boosting expectations
EdgeConneX Looks to Enter Swedish Market as Part of European Data Center Expansion Strategy27.2.2026 09:05:00 EET | Press release
EdgeConneX®, an EQT portfolio company with an extensive Pan-European data center footprint, looks to expand its presence with a new site located in Skellefteå, Sweden. The data center site will be acquired from Lyten, a global company that specializes in lithium-sulfur batteries and energy storage. The site would support EdgeConneX broader strategy to expand digital infrastructure capacity across the Nordics. Subject to the completion of applicable administrative and regulatory processes, EdgeConneX will look to develop a data center campus with potential capacity of up to one gigawatt in support of future AI and cloud computing workloads. Upon completion, the data center campus would be one of the largest facilities in Europe that would be primarily powered by renewable energy. “Sweden represents an attractive long‑term market for digital infrastructure investment. The country’s access to renewable energy, stable power grid, technical workforce and strong sustainability framework alig
Lyten Completes Acquisition of Northvolt Sweden and Establishes its First Lyten Industrial Hub in Sweden27.2.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
Lyten, a global leader in lithium-sulfur batteries and energy storage, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Northvolt Ett and Ett Expansion (Skellefteå, Sweden) and Northvolt Labs (Västerås, Sweden). The Northvolt Sweden acquisition includes 16 GWh of existing battery manufacturing capacity, more than 160 hectares of land, infrastructure and buildings to support expanded manufacturing and industrial activities, and the largest and most advanced battery research and development center in Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260226538293/en/ Northvolt Labs, the largest battery research and development facility in Europe. Located in Västerås, Sweden. Lyten additionally announced the formation of the Lyten Industrial Hub, located in Skellefteå, at the Northvolt Ett site. The industrial hub will utilize the infrastructure built by Northvolt and access to abundant, clean hydro power to co-loca
SOLUM and Competera Expand Partnership to Integrate AI-Driven Pricing Solutions with Real-Time ESL Execution Across Europe27.2.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
SOLUM (KOSPI: 248070) and Competera announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to further connect AI-driven pricing intelligence with real-time Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) execution across European retail networks. The announcement follows strong engagement at EuroShop, where the integrated solution attracted significant interest from the local retail operators. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260226065052/en/ SOLUM and Competera announced the expansion of their strategic partnership (Image: SOLUM) The collaboration brings together Competera’s AI-driven pricing solutions for enterprise retail with SOLUM’s Newton ESL platform, enabling retailers to align advanced price optimization with synchronized shelf-edge communication. Competera’s platform applies machine learning and advanced analytics to help retailers balance competitiveness and value-based pricing, strengthen customer loyalty, improve pri
OpenSynergy's Blue SDK Now Drives More Than 400 Million Cars27.2.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
OpenSynergy's Blue SDK, the industry-leading independent Bluetooth® stack, is now deployed in over 400 million cars. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260226654887/en/ OpenSynergy's Blue SDK now drives more than 400 million cars OpenSynergy is thrilled and very proud to announce that Blue SDK is now integrated in more than an estimated 400 million cars worldwide, deployed by virtually all the major OEMs across a wide range of vehicles, segments, and markets, offering extensive and consistent interoperability between many generations of smartphones and cars. “This is an incredible milestone for OpenSynergy, but it is also a testament to the ubiquity of the Bluetooth standard in our everyday lives and the success of the entire Bluetooth ecosystem under the leadership of the Bluetooth SIG,” comments Kathleen Ende, CEO, OpenSynergy. “Blue SDK is now an essential part of the daily automotivecockpit plug and play expe
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom