Nairobi, April 19 -- Ethiopia is on the cusp. Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came into office in April 2018, Ethiopia has laid down a series of reforms, most notably softening its stranglehold on key sectors such as aviation, logistics, telecoms and energy.

But there is a prelude to all this. Between 2003 and 2011, Ethiopia recorded sustained double-digit real GDP annual growth rates; after which growth peaked in 2017.

In the fiscal year 2015/16, the country's annual economic output slumped to a 12-year low (real GDP at eight percent year-on-year).

But perhaps a rather more worrying trend was recorded in the country's external position, as the current account balance worsened to a deficit of $6.5 billion in 2017 (about nine percent of...