Firms in Ethiopia’s Industrial Parks : COVID-19 Impacts, Challenges, and Government Response

Mengistu, Andualem ; Krishnan, Pramila ; Maaskant, Koen ; Meyer, Christian Johannes ; Krkoska, Eduard

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INDUSTRIAL PARKS;    CORONAVIRUS;    COVID-19;    PANDEMIC IMPACT;    PANDEMIC RESPONSE;   

RP-ID  :  153421

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemicposes a challenge for Ethiopia’s ambitious industrializationagenda focused on export-oriented light manufacturing. Thisnote summarizes results from a survey of firms in Ethiopia’sindustrial parks. The data suggests that over the pastmonths, the pandemic has severely impacted firms’ ability toproduce and sell their output. The availability andaffordability of foreign inputs and the availability oflabor are widely reported as constraints to production.Government support measures have not reached the majority offirms. After these initial demand- and supply-side shocks,firms in industrial parks are now entering a new uncertainphase: over the next six months, firms expect that orderswill decrease by an average of 20 percent and employment by17 percent compared to the same period last year. Thesefindings illustrate the need for sustained support toprotect firms and workers from the impacts of the pandemicand to preserve the significant investments made in thissector. Wage subsidy schemes and working capital loanprograms will be appropriate to mitigate large-scale job losses.