NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A wave of economic reforms in Ethiopia since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to office nearly a year ago has sparked hope among social businesses struggling to grow under the east African nation’s heavily regulated economy, industry experts said. Yet they are struggling to scale up and expand - largely due to a lack of access to finance, said the report. But recent reforms signaled a more friendly environment for foreign investors interested in financing social enterprises, she added. As well as opening up the sector to foreign investment, social entrepreneurs said they hoped authorities would create a regulatory framework for social businesses and new policies to promote the sector. “Government officials don’t really understand the private sector, and exactly what social enterprises are,” said Kibret Abebe, president of Tebeta, Ethiopia’s first private ambulance service.

Source: Ethiopian News February 22, 2019 12:22 UTC