ADDIS ABABA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn called on the country's younger generation to engage in Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) development sector so as to address concerns related with unemployment.
The premier made the remarks during a ceremony organized to award close to 970 small and micro enterprises that were promoted to medium level enterprises in Ethiopia's Oromia regional state.
The Premier, speaking at an event held late on Sunday in Ethiopia's Nekemte town, some 320km south of the capital Addis Ababa, said that his government is working to address youth unemployment throughout the east African country.
According to Hailemariam, small and micro enterprises are highly considered as potential instruments to provide working opportunities for the country's burgeoning youth population.
Despite the potential to create job opportunities, small and micro enterprises also help to improve the livelihood of the younger generation and country's economy, Hailemariam noted.
Established with an initial capital of 29 million Ethiopian birr (1.3 million U.S. dollars), the model enterprises promoted to medium level enterprises on Sunday have so far raised their capital to 1.2 billion ETB.
The government of Ethiopia had faced oppositions in different parts of the country, mainly in the country's Oromia regional state. One of the factors that exacerbated the protest in 2016 was attributed to unemployment for the country's burgeoning younger generation.
Since then, the east African country has implemented various reforms as a concrete response to the preoccupations of the public, by addressing major public concerns such as unemployment and bad governance. Enditem
