Medium & Large enterprise (MLE) system
Increasing incomes by creating more and higher paying jobs through growth of medium and large manufacturers
Addis Ababa’s rapid growth is not benefitting all. Women and youth are particularly disadvantaged. Culturally defined roles of women limit which opportunities can be pursued and the significant youth population far exceeds opportunities. Medium and large manufacturers, specifically those in low-tech, labour-intensive, light manufacturing, are key for Ethiopia’s industrialisation and continued growth. They hold promise for creating jobs and raising incomes of poor women and youth for whom manufacturing enables entry into formal employment. However, achieving growth in this sector is not without major challenges.
Critical Constraints
We identified critical constraints with the greatest potential for sustainable change and impact at scale
Inadequate human resource (HR) management skills to support firm productivity improvement and growth
Low firm performance due to an absence of performance management systems
Ineffective production management that relies on outdated processes and obsolete knowledge
Shortage of input supply from domestic sources
Manufacturing firms underinvest in sales and marketing needed to understand buyer requirements and preferences and generate awareness and demand
Intervention Focus areas
We are focused on the following intervention areas to address the critical constraints
Improvement of the HR function to increase employee performance and firm productivity through HR development programmes, performance management systems, and other tools
Development of internal and external production management capabilities through a commercial and affordable service delivery model that drives MLE investment
Strengthening domestic input supply and linkages between domestic input suppliers and manufacturers by strengthening market exchange mechanisms and developing a coordinated sourcing system for recycling raw materials
Improvement of sales and marketing capabilities of manufacturing firms through capacity building programmes and access to information on buyer requirements and preferences
System Lead: TechnoServe
Other focus systems
Micro & small
enterprise (mse)
system
Reducing barriers to business entry and growth and stimulating innovation
Skills
system
Improving skills development to unlock wage and self-employment opportunities