Mamo Mihretu is a prominent figure in Ethiopia, serving as the CEO of Ethiopian Investment Holding (EIH), a state-owned company responsible for investing in various sectors of the Ethiopian economy. He has been a key player in the country’s economic and political reforms in recent years.
Before he was appointed CEO of EIH, Mamo Mihretu served as Chief Policy Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He played a pivotal role in shaping Ethiopia’s economic policies, including the implementation of major reforms in the telecoms, banking, and aviation sectors.
Mihretu also worked as a principal at the Africa Group LLC; a research and advisory firm focused on bringing clients cutting-edge insight to guide their investment and business decisions in Africa. He worked with them for a period of one year and some months starting from (Feb 2008 – maGroup009) before moving to the world bank group in 2010 where he worked as a senior program manager in the group for a period of seven years starting (Aug 2010 to Feb 2022) before he was appointed the Senior Policy Advisor and Chief Trade Negotiator to the prime minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed.
After 3 years and 6 months of working as the Senior Policy Advisor and Chief Trade Negotiator to the prime minister of Ethiopia, he was then appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopia Investment Holdings (Ethiopia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund). Its mandate is to create generational wealth through strategic investments, resilient portfolios, and professional management. It aims at blending its local assets with best-in-class international partners and investors
In addition to his role as Chief Trade Negotiator, Mr Mamo Mihretu serves as Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Mr Mamo worked as a Senior Private Sector Specialist for the World Bank Group before joining the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. During his time there, he oversaw the implementation of various programs in Ethiopia, including those for trade logistics, tax simplification, business regulation, and investment promotion.
Mamo Mihretu is a lawyer by profession and holds a Master’s degree in Law from Harvard Law School. He has worked as a lawyer in both Ethiopia and the United States and has served as a legal advisor to various international organizations.
Mr Mamo is a trained attorney who boasts many academic credentials, including a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard Kennedy School, a Bachelor of Laws degree from Addis Ababa University, and a certification in international trade and investment from the University of Amsterdam. Mr Mamo was recognized by the Financial Times as one of the rising young technocrats guiding Ethiopia’s comprehensive reform initiative.
Mamo Mihretu Bromance With Ethiopian Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of Ethiopia put Mamo Mihretu, who was his policy advisor and chief trade negotiator, in charge of Ethiopia’s sovereign fund.
Mamo has been named the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the state-owned investment company Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH). It was set up by a decree from the Council of Ministers last month. The Prime Minister is in charge of a board of six directors.
The Fund is allowed to have 100 billion Br in the capital, but only 25 billion Br will be paid up. It gets money from a pool of state-owned assets that it manages, from returns and income from investing the money from the sale of its assets, from the sale of its assets and businesses, and loans and other sources like bonds. Blen Mammo, a senior economic advisor at the Ministry of Finance, says that it is set up with 10 similar funds in Africa. It is called a sovereign wealth fund.
Mamo has worked on reforms in the economic, legal, and logistics sectors for more than 16 years. He was one of the “young liberal technocrats” with international experience who joined the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD). He had one child. Eyob Tekalign (PhD), a state minister for finance, and Abebe Abebayehu, who was head of the Investment Commission for the first two years after 2018, joined the government with the promise of changing the economy from one run by the government to one run by private capital in a competitive market.
Mamo was in charge of the World Bank’s work in Ethiopia in finance, competitiveness, and trade for eight years before he joined the government in 2018. He works in the Prime Minister’s office, where he mostly talks about trade issues like the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Mamo went to Addis Abeba University to study law. After that, he went to the universities of Pretoria and Amsterdam to finish a post-graduate program in law. He also took classes in leadership and economic growth at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The EIH has asked to join the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), a group of 40 sovereign wealth funds that include the China Investment Corporation, the Kuwait Investment Authority, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, among others. Ben says that a deal has been made and that the company will join as an associate member.
Ethiopian Investment Holdings wants to take care of 24 state-owned businesses (SOEs). Assets that are likely to fall under its management include state-owned businesses and assets, share companies and financial institutions, land and properties owned by the state, and other tangible and intangible assets in which the federal government has a stake. Blen told Fortune that it is using portfolio management to figure out which businesses to take on during its first phase of operations.
“We want to make sure that all of our wealth is used,” Blen said.
The Public Enterprises Holding & Administration Agency is in charge of about 36 public companies. About half of them, like the Ethiopian Railway Corporation (ERC), the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), and the Land Bank & Development Corporation (LBDC), came under its control earlier this year.
Sources with knowledge of the situation say that the Agency will not be dissolved. It will keep running state-owned businesses that will not be given to Ethiopian Investment Holdings.
Experts warn, though, that there needs to be a good reason to invest in certain areas.
A financial analyst named Abdulmenan Mohammed said, “In the past, market failure was used as an excuse for government investment in certain sectors.”
He said that most of these investments have been “riddled” with corruption, waste, and inefficiency, which makes him doubt the state’s ability to run a company of this size.
The Fund is supposed to take on divestment projects both in the United States and abroad. Dividends from businesses that are part of the Fund are not subject to taxes or fees, but this does not apply to sub-funds or companies in which the EIH invests.
National wealth funds like the ones in India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) don’t have to pay taxes on infrastructure investments. Last year, the Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund got tax breaks for investments it planned to make before 2024 in textile parks, agriculture markets, telecom towers, and power plants. Even though this helps companies stay competitive on the global market, it could hurt private businesses that serve the domestic market, says Million Kibret, managing partner of BDO Ethiopia, an investment advisory firm that works under BDO East Africa.
Source of Income
Mamo Mihretu is a seasoned lawyer who has worked in and with big companies in various places. Mamo also earns a good income from top positions he held in Ethiopia including as the central bank governor of the country.
Age
He was born in the year 1988 and he will be 35 years old in 2023.
Mamo Mihretu was born and raised by his parents in his home country Ethiopia. He has also lived most of his childhood living in his home country and he also attended Schools in Ethiopia where he acquired some of his education before leaving the country for his higher education. After his first degree, he taught as a lecturer at St. Mary’s university college. As a lecturer at the college, he Chaired the Department of Law, where he taught courses on Commercial Law, Labour Law, and International Law, in addition, he was also the head of the department of law at that time.
Net Worth
Mamo Mihretu’s Net worth is estimated to be around $5 to 10 million dollars.
Social Page Handles
The following are all the official social media handles of Mamo Mihretu;
Facebook: @mamoMihretu
Instagram: @mamoMihretu
Twitter: @mamoMihretu
LinkedIn: @mamoMihretu
YouTube: None
Pinterest: None
Tumblr: None
Quota: None
WhatsApp: N/A
