Congratulations to Ethiopia: The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Ethiopia has achieved a historic milestone with the commissioning of Africa’s largest hydroelectric power dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
A Project 12 Years in the Making
Construction of GERD began in 2011 and was completed in 2023. With an installed capacity of 5.51 gigawatts, the dam will not only power Ethiopia but also transform the country into a net exporter of electricity to its neighbors, including Kenya.
Funding Against the Odds
The GERD cost approximately $5 billion to build. Yet, Ethiopia faced immense challenges securing international financing.
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Egypt strongly opposed the project, fearing it would restrict the Nile’s flow, which provides 90% of Egypt’s water supply.
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International donors, under Egypt’s pressure, refused to fund the dam.
In response, Ethiopia turned inward:
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The Central Bank issued “Renaissance Bonds” to Ethiopians at home and in the diaspora.
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Civil servants donated portions of their salaries via direct debit.
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Patriotic fundraising campaigns united citizens around the project.
By 2024, Ethiopia reported raising $21 million in just one year, with $10 million coming from the diaspora over three years.
The Somalia Angle
One remarkable story is from Abdifatah Hussein Abdi, a regional MP in Jijiga (capital of the Somali Region, where 82% of the population is ethnic Somali). He personally contributed 3–4% of his salary for over a decade to support the GERD.
This is historically significant. The Somali Region had a troubled past with the Ethiopian state, including the Ogaden War of 1977–78, when Somalia supported insurgents in the region. For decades, mistrust and underdevelopment characterized relations between Addis Ababa and the Somali region.
Yet the GERD changed this dynamic.
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In 2014, the Ethiopian-Somali community in Stockholm held a fundraising event for the dam.
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Mustafa Mohammed, then-acting president of the Somali region, declared:
“The Somali people will support the project in the same way as other Ethiopians.”
“This Is Our Dam”
The true power of the GERD lies not only in electricity but in unity. Ethiopians from all walks of life contributed—rich and poor, center and periphery, even former rebels.
At the commissioning ceremony, a banner summed it up perfectly:
“This is our dam.”
Lessons for Africa
Ethiopia has shown that self-reliance, unity, and patriotism can achieve what outside funding and international politics often block. GERD is not just Ethiopia’s dam—it is a symbol of African resilience and determination.
Africans have much to learn from Ethiopia’s story.
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