Dr. Arkebe Oqubay is endorsed by the African Union as Africa’s sole candidate for Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
Dr. Arkebe is a Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He has been at the centre of policymaking and government leadership for over 30 years. During his three decades of dedicated public service, Dr. Arkebe has successfully led bold reforms and continues to play a key role in Ethiopia’s economic transformation.
Dr. Arkebe has tirelessly championed productive, inclusive, and sustainable industrial development. He has promoted the development of the private sector and stimulated a record level of productive investment in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. He has undertaken effective resource mobilisation through international partnerships with both bilateral and multilateral development partners, and with multinational investors.
He has successfully pioneered a new generation of environmentally and commercially progressive eco-industrial parks and special economic zones, fostered productive capacity, and spearheaded urban transformation and the rapid development of economic infrastructure.
Dr. Arkebe is a Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He has been at the centre of policymaking and government leadership for over 30 years. During his three decades of dedicated public service, Dr. Arkebe has successfully led bold reforms and continues to play a key role in Ethiopia’s economic transformation.
Dr. Arkebe has tirelessly championed productive, inclusive, and sustainable industrial development. He has promoted the development of the private sector and stimulated a record level of productive investment in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. He has undertaken effective resource mobilisation through international partnerships with both bilateral and multilateral development partners, and with multinational investors.
He has successfully pioneered a new generation of environmentally and commercially progressive eco-industrial parks and special economic zones, fostered productive capacity, and spearheaded urban transformation and the rapid development of economic infrastructure.
Dr. Arkebe has also served as chair and vice-chair on the boards of several leading public corporations, including Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation, and the Ethiopian Railway Corporation. He was also the founding chancellor of Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, and currently holds several professorial and research fellowship positions in leading universities and research institutions across the world.
Dr Arkebe Oqubay serves as a Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of
Ethiopia, Dr Abiy Ahmed (winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize). He served two former prime
ministers, Hailemariam Desalegn and the late Meles Zenawi. For over a decade, he has been
playing a leading role in policy design and execution, monitoring and coordination of economic
sectors, and development plans at federal/national and regional state levels. He has served as
the coordinator of the National Exports Coordination Committee and the Ethiopian Investment
Board, both chaired by the prime ministers.
Key achievements:
▪ Champion of economic transformation: He played a key role in the design and execution
of economic policies, and the planning, monitoring, and coordination of the two five-year
plans – the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) I and II – covering the period 2011‒
2020. GTP I and II were aimed at promoting rapid economic growth and structural change
and accelerating the shift from an agrarian economy to manufacturing-led and private
sector-driven industrialization.
▪ Stimulating productive and sustainable investment: Following consultations with the
private sector (both domestic and foreign), he initiated institutional reforms and new
investment attraction strategies enabling the country to attract investment and establish
opportunities for employment creation, industrial clusters, and productive capacity
building in key priority sectors. Since then, FDI inflows to Ethiopia have exceeded US$25
billion, most of it directed at the manufacturing sector. He also played a key role in the
formulation and implementation of policies to promote the development of agro-industry
and horticulture exports.
▪ Champion of industrial development: He pioneered the development of a new
generation of industrial parks and special economic zones that support exports,
employment, linkages, and green industrialization. He led a programme of international
study tours to learn from successes and failures in industrial park development globally,
which helped shape Ethiopian policy. He was responsible for introducing the institutional,
legislative, and policy framework, and led both pilot and expansion phases in the
development of a significant national network of industrial hubs within a record-breaking
time.
▪ Development of economic infrastructure and export logistics: He hasserved as vice-chair
of the board of Ethiopian Airlines, which has emerged as the largest African carrier and
diversified aviation group. He was chair of the board of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation,
which has developed a green national electric-powered railway system that includes an
export‒import economic corridor and the Addis Ababa light rail system.
▪ International development partnerships: He has played a key role in fostering productive
collaboration with international and bilateral development partners around sustainable
industrialization, productive investment and exports, and the development of ecoindustrial parks. He also initiated the Jobs Compact, a pioneering project jointly developed
with the European Union, the World Bank, and the UK government, with the twin
objectives of job creation and migration flow reduction.
As a state minister, Dr Arkebe designed national urban policy and transformation plans at federal
level and coordinated federal agencies and corporations under the ministry, and in regional states.
Key achievements:
▪ Pioneering industrialization and urban development: He introduced major urban transformation, promoting productive cities with an emphasis on job creation, poverty reduction, and the development of SMEs.
▪ Developing urban governance: He launched a major urban governance programme to improve urban planning, rural‒urban linkages, services for citizens, and urban management capacity through training programmes and a new Master’s programme for urban managers.
▪ Housing and urban infrastructure: He initiated national integrated housing development programmes involving the expansion of condominium houses in more than 65 cities and towns, together with urban infrastructure development programmes aimed at job creation, SME development, and urban transformation.
▪ Domestic industrial capability: He led the policy work necessary for the development of
the private sector, the national construction industry, and the building materials manufacturing sector, which in turn contributed to boosting the cement industry as one of Africa’s top three producers.
Dr Arkebe has served as chair and vice-chair of several task forces and committees appointed by the Prime Minister. He has been a member of prime ministerial delegations to several bilateral and multilateral meetings and has represented the Prime Minister at numerous international forums and summits.
Key achievements:
He has led the board of directors of many leading public enterprises, including the following:
Ethiopian Airlines 2013‒present Vice-Chair
Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation 2014‒present Chair
Ethiopian Railway Corporation 2007‒15 Chair
Addis Ababa Science and Technology University 2009‒14 Chair
Key achievements:
▪ Private-sector development and job creation: He transformed the city of Addis Ababa into a vibrant, investment-friendly city and a thriving African political and diplomatic hub.The city recorded remarkably high economic growth and hundreds of thousands of jobs were created. Thousands of SMEs were established and supported, and reforms to attract investment were implemented. Opportunities for industrial clusters for large enterprises and SMEs were expanded.
▪ Transformation of metropolitan city: He launched an innovative integrated housing development programme, the first of its type, that generated jobs, condominium housing, and home ownership with priority given to women; and city infrastructure and utilities were expanded. A green and clean city vision was introduced with community participation and public‒private partnerships.
▪ Human capital and social inclusiveness: He was responsible for a major campaign to improve health and education, including an extensive anti-HIV campaign and the expansion of schools for more than 250,000 students, ending the practice of multiple shifts.
▪ Urban governance reforms: He initiated new urban governance reforms and implemented city-wide restructuring and improvement of municipal services. The reform of the revenue collection systems resulted in increased city revenues.
▪ International positioning: He promoted Addis Ababa as a true continental capital jointly with the African Union, UNECA and other partners; and led city cooperation with many cities worldwide including Leipzig (Germany), Johannesburg (South Africa), Beijing (China), and Chuncheon (South Korea). Addis Ababa’s transformation was recognized by UN-HABITAT, UNECA, the African Union, and others.
As Governor of a regional state, responsible for all economic sectors, including industry, trade, infrastructure, tourism, and urban development, Dr Arkebe introduced several sectorspecific initiatives to promote investment, trade, and industry in order to expand employment opportunities for thousands of unemployed young people. Taking a hands-on approach, he chaired the Tourism Development Council, the Construction Development Council, the SME Development Council, and the Trade and Industry Council to ensure that each council made the maximum effort to implement the strategies effectively and achieve concrete results. Through his strong and visionary leadership, the regional state was able to register concrete results on the economic and social development front.
Key achievements:
▪ Industrial capacity and economic reforms: He initiated economic reforms and industrial
development programmes to improve the investment climate and urban‒rural linkages,
and to develop SMEs. He introduced support packages for private-sector development
and industrial clusters throughout towns and cities in order to increase job creation.
▪ Governance reforms: He implemented urban governance reforms to improve municipal
services in all towns and cities and introduced new local government legislation to
increase decentralization and expand local government autonomy.
Key achievements:
During the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (1991‒1993), Dr Arkebe played a leading role in the economic recovery, reconstruction and development, and industrialization of the war-torn regions of Ethiopia. New industrial capacity was developed in various sectors, including textiles, leather, cement, pharmaceuticals, industrial engineering, services, and agro-industry, which created more than 25,000 direct jobs.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Development Studies
(pass with no corrections, magna cum laude)
SOAS, University of London, UK
Master of Arts (MA) in International Relations
University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
The Open University (OU), Milton Keynes, UK
Manufacturing: Management and Technology (MMT)
The Open University (OU), Milton Keynes, UK
Linking empirical research to sound industrialization strategy
What distinguishes Dr Arkebe from others engaged in shaping development strategy and industrial policy is his strong belief in sound empirical research to guide policy. Over the past several years, Dr Arkebe has been productively involved in policy research, in particular on industrial development, with a special focus on enterprise development, the role of the private sector in economic development, technology and know-how transfer to developing regions, economic transformation, and public policy.
Dr Arkebe’s research focus is on leading issues in development economics, with an emphasis on economic development and economic transformation, private-sector development, industrial development, industrial policy and economic catch-up, environmental sustainability, Africa, and global transformation. Among Dr Arkebe’s recent publications are the following:
His most recent publications include:
Forthcoming titles delivered and under review (2021‒22):
He has authored papers and academic articles on structural change and catch-up, industrial policy, economic development, African economic transformation, and Africa and global cooperation. The most recent papers and book chapters are the following:
In recognition of his commitment to the industrialization of developing countries and his distinguished achievements in spearheading Ethiopia’s export-led industrialization, and for promoting intra-African policy dialogue and economic ties, Minister Arkebe has been awarded
the following honours:
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, presented by the Emperor of Japan, 2018
Recognized by the NewAfrican as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2016 and a “leading thinker on Africa’s strategic development” for work on industrialization and industrial policies, both theoretical and practical, 2017
Best African Mayor Award, and finalist World Mayor Award, 2006
Dr Arkebe has acquired extensive experience in international development cooperation, building enduring and productive partnerships with international development partners, the private sector, civil society, and international research centers.
He currently serves on a number of international advisory boards, and through policy dialogue, participation in international forums, and policy research, he promotes international development, global collaboration, and the development agenda, and more specifically the industrialization and economic transformation of developing countries.
He has successfully mobilized the resources required to support development priorities and industrial development initiatives. He has been actively engaged in resource mobilization for the development of industrial parks, key infrastructure, and cities. He also played a key role in attracting tens of billions of dollars of FDI into the manufacturing and other productive sectors.
Dr Arkebe is a regular contributor of commentaries to the Financial Times, Project Syndicate, ODI, UNU-WIDER, UNECA, AfDB, ACET, Brookings Institution, and OECD Development Centre. Among other subjects, his commentaries and papers have focused on industrialization and economic transformation, developing countries, COVID-19, and the economic crisis. On numerous occasions, he has participated as an international speaker in global forums addressing diverse issues, particularly Africa’s transformation and industrialization, Africa’s global partnership, and policy advocacy for developing countries.
He has built an impressive network of ongoing research collaboration and dialogue with researchers from leading universities across the globe as well as with key UN and other agencies, including UNIDO, UNCTAD, UNECA, UNU-WIDER, African Union Commission (AUC),BRICS The World Bank and IFC, OECD Development Centre, and bilateral agencies in China, Germany, and Japan.
Representing Africa and his government, he has presented keynote speeches at international forums focusing on climate change, investment, trade, economic growth, and global collaboration. These include the Copenhagen Environment Summit (Copenhagen, 2016); Marshall Plan with Africa (Berlin, 2018); UNCTAD Trade and Development Board (Geneva, 2019); Shanghai International Forum (2016); OECD Development Centre‒African Union Forum (Antananarivo, Madagascar and Madrid, Spain, 2019); ministerial cabinet-level policy dialogue sessions in Kampala, Accra, Nairobi (2016, 2017, 2019); Africa Growth Summit (Paris, 2016); and Economist Ethiopia Summit (Addis Ababa, 2016). He has presented at international investment forums in Washington (2018); London (2017, 2018); Amsterdam (2017); Hong Kong (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018); Seoul (2016); and Tokyo (2016, 2018).
Dr Arkebe holds professorial positions in Africa, Europe, and Asia. He is Professor of Practice at the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARCID), University of Johannesburg, and a Visiting Professor at other leading universities in Europe and Asia.
Professor of Practice
South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARCID), University of Johannesburg
Visiting Professor
School of Public Policy, Sciences Po, Paris, France
Senior Visiting Professor
School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore
Distinguished Visiting Professor
School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA), Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Professional Affiliate
Santanna Institute of Economics, School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy
ODI Distinguished Fellow
Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London, UK
ODI: https://www.odi.org/staff/arkebe-oqubayUNU-WIDER Honorary Fellow
United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research
https://www.wider.unu.edu/expert/arkebe-oqubayMember of the International Board
African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Accra, Ghana
https://acetforafrica.org/tag/oqubay/Senior Research Fellow, Member of International Advisory Board
Centre for Economic Catch-up (CEC), Seoul National University, Republic of Korea
http://www.catch-up.org/main/?skin=index.htmlInternational Advisory Board Member
The Shanghai Forum, China
https://shanghaiforum.fudan.edu.cn/forumen/main.htmDr Arkebe Oqubay serves as a Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of
Ethiopia, Dr Abiy Ahmed (winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize). He served two former prime
ministers, Hailemariam Desalegn and the late Meles Zenawi. For over a decade, he has been
playing a leading role in policy design and execution, monitoring and coordination of economic
sectors, and development plans at federal/national and regional state levels. He has served as
the coordinator of the National Exports Coordination Committee and the Ethiopian Investment
Board, both chaired by the prime ministers.
Key achievements:
▪ Champion of economic transformation: He played a key role in the design and execution
of economic policies, and the planning, monitoring, and coordination of the two five-year
plans – the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) I and II – covering the period 2011‒
2020. GTP I and II were aimed at promoting rapid economic growth and structural change
and accelerating the shift from an agrarian economy to manufacturing-led and private
sector-driven industrialization.
▪ Stimulating productive and sustainable investment: Following consultations with the
private sector (both domestic and foreign), he initiated institutional reforms and new
investment attraction strategies enabling the country to attract investment and establish
opportunities for employment creation, industrial clusters, and productive capacity
building in key priority sectors. Since then, FDI inflows to Ethiopia have exceeded US$25
billion, most of it directed at the manufacturing sector. He also played a key role in the
formulation and implementation of policies to promote the development of agro-industry
and horticulture exports.
▪ Champion of industrial development: He pioneered the development of a new
generation of industrial parks and special economic zones that support exports,
employment, linkages, and green industrialization. He led a programme of international
study tours to learn from successes and failures in industrial park development globally,
which helped shape Ethiopian policy. He was responsible for introducing the institutional,
legislative, and policy framework, and led both pilot and expansion phases in the
development of a significant national network of industrial hubs within a record-breaking
time.
▪ Development of economic infrastructure and export logistics: He hasserved as vice-chair
of the board of Ethiopian Airlines, which has emerged as the largest African carrier and
diversified aviation group. He was chair of the board of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation,
which has developed a green national electric-powered railway system that includes an
export‒import economic corridor and the Addis Ababa light rail system.
▪ International development partnerships: He has played a key role in fostering productive
collaboration with international and bilateral development partners around sustainable
industrialization, productive investment and exports, and the development of ecoindustrial parks. He also initiated the Jobs Compact, a pioneering project jointly developed
with the European Union, the World Bank, and the UK government, with the twin
objectives of job creation and migration flow reduction.
As a state minister, Dr Arkebe designed national urban policy and transformation plans at federal
level and coordinated federal agencies and corporations under the ministry, and in regional states.
Key achievements:
▪ Pioneering industrialization and urban development: He introduced major urban transformation, promoting productive cities with an emphasis on job creation, poverty reduction, and the development of SMEs.
▪ Developing urban governance: He launched a major urban governance programme to improve urban planning, rural‒urban linkages, services for citizens, and urban management capacity through training programmes and a new Master’s programme for urban managers.
▪ Housing and urban infrastructure: He initiated national integrated housing development programmes involving the expansion of condominium houses in more than 65 cities and towns, together with urban infrastructure development programmes aimed at job creation, SME development, and urban transformation.
▪ Domestic industrial capability: He led the policy work necessary for the development of
the private sector, the national construction industry, and the building materials manufacturing sector, which in turn contributed to boosting the cement industry as one of Africa’s top three producers.
Dr Arkebe has served as chair and vice-chair of several task forces and committees appointed by the Prime Minister. He has been a member of prime ministerial delegations to several bilateral and multilateral meetings and has represented the Prime Minister at numerous international forums and summits.
Key achievements:
He has led the board of directors of many leading public enterprises, including the following:
Ethiopian Airlines 2013‒present Vice-Chair
Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation 2014‒present Chair
Ethiopian Railway Corporation 2007‒15 Chair
Addis Ababa Science and Technology University 2009‒14 Chair
Key achievements:
▪ Private-sector development and job creation: He transformed the city of Addis Ababa into a vibrant, investment-friendly city and a thriving African political and diplomatic hub.The city recorded remarkably high economic growth and hundreds of thousands of jobs were created. Thousands of SMEs were established and supported, and reforms to attract investment were implemented. Opportunities for industrial clusters for large enterprises and SMEs were expanded.
▪ Transformation of metropolitan city: He launched an innovative integrated housing development programme, the first of its type, that generated jobs, condominium housing, and home ownership with priority given to women; and city infrastructure and utilities were expanded. A green and clean city vision was introduced with community participation and public‒private partnerships.
▪ Human capital and social inclusiveness: He was responsible for a major campaign to improve health and education, including an extensive anti-HIV campaign and the expansion of schools for more than 250,000 students, ending the practice of multiple shifts.
▪ Urban governance reforms: He initiated new urban governance reforms and implemented city-wide restructuring and improvement of municipal services. The reform of the revenue collection systems resulted in increased city revenues.
▪ International positioning: He promoted Addis Ababa as a true continental capital jointly with the African Union, UNECA and other partners; and led city cooperation with many cities worldwide including Leipzig (Germany), Johannesburg (South Africa), Beijing (China), and Chuncheon (South Korea). Addis Ababa’s transformation was recognized by UN-HABITAT, UNECA, the African Union, and others.
As Governor of a regional state, responsible for all economic sectors, including industry, trade, infrastructure, tourism, and urban development, Dr Arkebe introduced several sectorspecific initiatives to promote investment, trade, and industry in order to expand employment opportunities for thousands of unemployed young people. Taking a hands-on approach, he chaired the Tourism Development Council, the Construction Development Council, the SME Development Council, and the Trade and Industry Council to ensure that each council made the maximum effort to implement the strategies effectively and achieve concrete results. Through his strong and visionary leadership, the regional state was able to register concrete results on the economic and social development front.
Key achievements:
▪ Industrial capacity and economic reforms: He initiated economic reforms and industrial
development programmes to improve the investment climate and urban‒rural linkages,
and to develop SMEs. He introduced support packages for private-sector development
and industrial clusters throughout towns and cities in order to increase job creation.
▪ Governance reforms: He implemented urban governance reforms to improve municipal
services in all towns and cities and introduced new local government legislation to
increase decentralization and expand local government autonomy.
Key achievements:
During the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (1991‒1993), Dr Arkebe played a leading role in the economic recovery, reconstruction and development, and industrialization of the war-torn regions of Ethiopia. New industrial capacity was developed in various sectors, including textiles, leather, cement, pharmaceuticals, industrial engineering, services, and agro-industry, which created more than 25,000 direct jobs.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Development Studies
(pass with no corrections, magna cum laude)