A master project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Business Administration in International Management, School of Management

Project (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2009

Because foreign direct investments can boost an economy, enhance skills, transfer technology, attracting inward investments becomes a main challenge for the countries of the third world. With the case study of Ethiopia, the objective of this paper is to give a clear understanding of the importance of supporting investments in Ethiopia and to offer a framework for investment promotion from a strategic and practical perspective. The Master project is based on my professional experience carried at the GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft fü̈r Technische Zusammenarbeit, the German Technical cooperation agency, in 2008. I was involved in the ECBP - engineering capacity building programme team, a main project of the German-Ethiopian bilateral cooperation which aims at accelerating industrial development in Ethiopia. ECBP's mandate is to support investments in the private sector. The paper focuses on key elements that were implemented to improve Ethiopia's effectiveness in attracting foreign direct investment and to maximize the benefits for its economic development. Thus, this research which is based on my own experience in the investment relations section of ECBP, offers some recommendations in the implementation of an investment promotion strategy. An integrated investment promotion strategy that combines marketing and company targeting with after-care services is the model that is used for Ethiopia