1st Coffee Training Centre in Ethiopia inaugurated

Addis Ababa, June 8 2021 – The Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), illycaffè, Ernesto Illy Foundation and UNIDO have inaugurated the first Coffee Training Centre (CTC) in the country. The Centre was set up within the framework of the project “Improving the sustainability and inclusiveness of the Ethiopian coffee value chain through Private and Public Partnership”, financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and developed in partnership with illycaffè and Ernesto Illy Foundation.

Coffee plays a key role in the socio-economic development of Ethiopia, where Coffea Arabica originates from: it is a top export commodity, a foreign currency generator, as well as a sector that provides livelihoods to millions of households. Therefore, the CTC has been designed to foster knowledge sharing, innovation and the development of strong competencies in the Ethiopian coffee sector. Located within the leading national institution for the coffee sector (the ECTA), the Centre is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and features brewing, roasting and sensory laboratories, as well as a cafeteria.

The main objective of the CTC is to enable a wide range of services that will provide professionals with internationally acknowledged expertise and skillsets. These include coffee post-harvest activities, with a particular focus on coffee processing, cupping and grading, roasting, grinding, brewing, packaging and marketing. In addition, it offers a physical platform where national and international public and private stakeholders can meet, promote services, train operators and further foster PPP initiatives. The project has been designed with the support, guidance and international experience of illycaffè, Ernesto Illy Foundation and the University of Coffee of Trieste (Italy), all of which have contributed to capacitate a number of Ethiopian coffee experts by organising several tailor-made trainings and visits, as well as by awarding scholarships. In line with the Abu Dhabi Declaration, UNIDO “plays a crucial role in providing a platform to coordinate and catalyse initiatives led by, and in partnership with, private sector entities, while encouraging private-sector manufacturers to work together to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs”.

This activity is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Ethiopia 2020–2025, under the Strategic Priority 3, Prosperity, whereby: The UN will work towards accelerating the transition to a more inclusive and diversified economy, utilizing a “smart response” to and recovery from the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 to improve the pace, scale and quality of the change process. At the core of the UN’s focus will be the development of an enabling environment that can attract investments and boost entrepreneurship as well as enterprise/start-up formation and survival, to generate decent and productive jobs at scale for a young and growing population whilst improving social protection.