In April 2019 Siemens (Siemens.com) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Investment Commission of Ethiopia, to address the country’s energy and infrastructure sector challenges, to assist the government, stabilize and expand the existing grid infrastructure and explore island solutions for industrial hubs/parks and micro grid solutions for remote villages.

The Ethiopian Governments Growth and Transformational plan II has a goal to achieve universal electricity by 2025. Currently 56% of the Ethiopian population does not have access to electricity.

At the G20 summit, Siemens committed to supporting and contributing to Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan II and its objective of electrifying Ethiopia. Siemens will install a solar-hybrid plant in Sodo supplying reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity to the FruitBox farm as well as to the surrounding communities. The G20 investment Summit-Compact with Africa brings together delegates in the public and private sectors to promote German-African business relations under the compact with Africa.   

“The Fruitbox Farm project is a key Siemens lighthouse project aimed at demonstrating the importance of corporates aligning to a national vision that will ultimately benefit the lives of people in different societies,” says Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO for Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa. “Government plans supported by business initiatives are essential and play a crucial role in moving economies forward and ensuring economic prosperity for all,” she adds.

This project showcases how partnerships between big corporations and small startup companies, can help yield positive results, even in remote and rural areas. The impact on locals living in Sodo will be immense. Apart from providing electricity to the Fruitbox, the project will provide electricity to a nearby school which has approximately 300 students and additionally 150 households indirectly impacting roughly 1,500 people. The project goes beyond rural electrification by creating 200 direct new jobs, even in challenging environments. Through this initiative students from surrounding areas will be trained on how to operate and maintain the microgrid and integrating the agricultural value chain through oil and juice production.

Sabine concludes, “Siemens remains steadfast in its commitment to Ethiopia. It is our duty as a business operating in the country to make positive strides, through our technology to build a better, more sustainable future for its people.”