CASE STUDIES FROM AFRICA

South Africa, Zambia, and Tanzania. The airline has sales offices in all of the destination
countries. Given Malawian Airlines’ short operating history, there are no data available on
trade volume and trends. 98
In addition to the regional hubs in Lomé and Lilongwe, EAL is also planning to add a hub in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. The airline sees this system of building African hubs as a
means to win international passenger traffic beyond its base in Addis Ababa and take
advantage of the economic growth and increased passenger traffic across the continent.
Revenue from these strategic initiatives is still negligible. 99
Lessons Learnt and Best Practices
Ethiopia’s air transport services market is unique in that it was started almost 70 years ago. The
long operating history has given the country and the industry ample time to perfect their
policies, strategies, and operations. In identifying Ethiopia’s best practices in the sector, this
report takes a two-pronged approach. Firstly, the best practices in development and operation
of air transport services were identified. Secondly, best practices in the export of air transport
services were identified.
Operational Best Practices
Ethiopia has been successful in air transport services because of a few key best practices. These
guidelines can be adapted for other service sectors across the continent, and adapted based on
the stage of development.
Managerial Autonomy for SOEs. EAL operates with full managerial autonomy from the
government of Ethiopia. This creates a responsible and accountable management team
that is free from government intervention, political appointments, or politicians’
influence on daily operations. When an SOE that is optimally staffed, funded, and
managed, it should be empowered to operate with limited government interference, as
unwarranted interference undermines operations, creates unattractive business
environments, and erodes performance.
Investments in Human Capital. Ethiopia has recognised the importance of developing
human capital capacity to meet the requirements of the most relevant services
industries. Given the continent’s high unemployment rate and low cost of labour,
focused human capital development is an ideal solution. By developing a service sector,
and taking the relevant steps to train the population to meet that sector’s skills
requirements, economies can capitalise on their competitive advantages, build the
capacity of their populations, and foster self-sufficient services sectors. Further, by
enhancing the focused educational or technical offerings, a country can also create
demand from foreign students, and create a market for services outsourcing.
98
Ibid.
99
Ibid.
54