Ethiopia’s large livestock herd has long underpinned ambitions to move from raw hides to finished leather goods. A UK Department for International Development–linked research output, The Role of Foreign Investment in Ethiopia’s Leather Value Chain: Lessons for Ghana, examined how foreign capital, local tanneries, and export policy interact.
The study highlighted classic industrial-policy questions still relevant today: how to capture more value domestically, upgrade skills and environmental standards in tanning, and avoid a race to the bottom on wages and pollution while competing for FDI.
For business and policy readers, the leather chain remains a useful case study in agro-industrial upgrading—alongside coffee, textiles, and horticulture—as Ethiopia courts manufacturers and manages foreign exchange pressures.
