Dr. Wolday Amha

Dr. Wolday Amha has served as the Executive Director of the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI) since 1998. Prior to this, he worked as a consultant to the Ministry of Agriculture as National Constraint Analysis Advisor under FAO's Special Program for Food Production and Food Grain Marketing Project (MEDAC he worked /MSU/USAID project )and as a consultant for a number of NGOs helping them to improve their credit and saving operations. Dr. Wolday was Assistant Professor, Economics Department, Addis Ababa University, Teaching International Economics, Transport Economics and Introduction to Economics. Participated in the M.Sc. program of the department as thesis supervisor, Assistant Professor, Awassa College of Agriculture.He is the editor of the Microfinance Development Review and has edited and published various books and articles on food security, agricultural marketing and microfinance. Dr. Wolday was the Vice President of the Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA) for four years and now a days the president of EEA; an executive committee member of the Ethiopia Agricultural Society; and an associate editor of Journal of Ethiopian Agricultural Economics. Dr. was elected to the Board and president of AFMIN in 2000.

Educational Background

• Ph.D. in agricultural economics (agricultural marketing) at the Technical University of Berlin, Faculty of International Agricultural Development, Berlin
• Completion of the German language course under the Goethe Institute at Gottingen, West Germany
• Studies in economic development and planning at Addis Ababa University, Economics Department (M.Sc in Economics Development and Planning); Addis Ababa

Publications

1. 1) Wolday Amha (2003), Microfinance in Ethiopia Performance, challenges and role in poverty reduction, Occasional Paper No. 7
2. Wolday Amha (2002), The Role of finance and business development service (BDS) in Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) Development in Ethiopia, Occasional Paper No.5
3. Wolday Amha (2002), Product Development in the Ethiopian Microfinance Industry: Challenges and prospects, occasional paper No.4
4. Wolday Amha (2001), Experience sharing visit of Ethiopia:Performance, Challenge and role in poverty reduction, Occasional Paper No.3
5. Wolday Amha (2000), Review of Microfinance Industry in Ethiopia: Regulatory framework and performance, Occasional Paper No.2
6. Wolday Amha (2000), Networking Microfiance activities in Ethiopia: Challenges and prospects, occasional Paper No.1
7. Wolday Amha (2001), Addressing poverty in Ethiopia: Concepts, measurements and challenges. A training manual prepared for the Ethiopian Economic Association ( EEA)
8. 8) Wolday Amha (2001), The development of microfinance industry in Ethiopia: Performance, Problems, and Prospects. A paper presented in the 11th conference on Ethiopian Economy, Adama, Ethiopian Economic Association
9. 9) Wolday Amha (2001) Product Development in the Ethiopian Microfinance Industry: Challenges and Prospectus, A paper submitted to an International Workshop on Dimensions of MFI Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa Relevance of International Experience, Mekelle Business College, Meklle
10. Bekele Shiferaw and Wolday Amha (2001) Revisiting the Regulatory and Supervision Framework of the Microfinance Industry in Ethiopia. Dryland Coordination Group, NORAGRIC, Report Number 13, Norway
11. Wolday Amha (2001), Input and Output Marketing in Remote Areas: Ethiopia, A Study Submitted to The Policy Analysis Unit(PAU) in Harare, FAO, Addis Ababa (Draft)
12. Wolday Amha (Co-author with Mulat Demke) (2000). An overview of training programs and approaches for the informal sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. EASSRR. Vol. XVI No. 2
13. Wolday Amha (2000), Review of microfinance development in Ethiopia: Regulatory framework and performance. AEMFI, Occasional Paper 2. Addis Ababa
14. Wolday Amha (1999), Networking microfinance activities in Ethiopia: Challenges and prospects. A paper presented at the international conference on Microfinance Development in Ethiopia (December 2-5), Bahir Dar
15. Wolday Amha (1999) Marketing maize in Ethiopia: Liberalization and price integration issues. Ethiopian Journal of Development Research. Vol. 21. No.1
16. Wolday Amha (1999), Improved seed marketing and adoption, Ethiopian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol III, No. 1.
17. Wolday Amha (1999), IGAD grain marketing training program country report: Ethiopia: A report submitted to Danagro.
18. Wolday Amha, et al., (1999), Constraints and opportunities faced by the private sector in health care in Ethiopia, BASICS USAID project, East African Development and Training Consultants, Addis Ababa
19. Wolday Amha (1998), Return to schooling in Ethiopia: The case of the formal sector. In Senait Seyoum and Alemayehu Seyoum (eds.), Human resource development in Ethiopia, EEA Addis Ababa
20. Wolday Amha, Mulat Demeke, Dejene Aredo, and Assefa Admassie, (1998), Strategy to encourage private sector investment in education and training, PHRD project, East African Development and Training Consultants, Addis Ababa
21. Wolday Amha (1998), Addressing food security constraints in Ethiopia, A food security constraint analysis study for FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Addis Ababa
22. Wolday Amha (1998), Food security constraints in Ethiopia: Some results from sample survey of three Woredas, Economic Focus, Vol. 1, No.
23. Wolday Amha, Stepanek, J, Jayne T.S, and Asfaw Negassa (1997), Meeting food aid and price stabilization objectives through local grain purchase. A review of the 1996 experience, Grain Marketing Research Project (GMRP), MDAC/MSU, Working paper 7, Addis Ababa
24. Wolday Amha (1997), The effect of the reform process on cereal production and marketing: The case of Maize in Ethiopia, A paper presented on FAO workshop " Post liberalization of cereal commodity marketing in East and Southern Africa", Kampla, Uganda
25. Wolday Amha (1997) Returns to schooling in Ethiopia: The case of the formal sector. Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Vol. VI, No. 1
26. Edited a book: Wolday Amha, G.H.R Chipande and Andu-Alem Tegegne (1997), Small-Scale Enterprise Development in Ethiopia, Proceeding of the Sixth annual conference on the Ethiopian economy, EEA, Addis Ababa
27. Mulat Demeke and Wolday Amha (1997), The training needs and approaches for the informal sector in Africa. In: Wolday Amha, C.H.R Chimpande and Andu Alem Tegegne, Small Scale Enterprise Development in Ethiopia. EEA, Addis Ababa.
28. Edited a book: Mulat Demeke, Wolday Amha, Tesfaye Zegaye, Solomon Bellete, and Simeon Ethui (1996), Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in Ethiopia Proceedings of the Second Conference of the Agricultural Economic Society of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
29. Wolday Amha (1995) Ethiopia's market liberalization in agriculture: Consequences and Tesfaye Zegaye (1995), Food security nutrition and poverty alleviation in Ethiopia, Agriculture Economic Society of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
30. Wolday Amha (1995) The performance of Teff and Maize marketing in Southern Ethiopia, Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Vol. IV, No. 1, 1995.
31. Edited a book: Mulat Demeke, Wolday Amha, Simeon Ehui and Tesfaye Zegeye (1995), Food Security, nutrition and poverty alleviation in Ethiopia, Agricultural Economics Society of Ethiopia (AESE), Addis Ababa.
32. Wolday Amha (1994) Macroeconomic policy reforms in Ethiopia: Current status and constraints, Ethiopian Review, vol. 4. No. 2, 1994, PP. 58-60
33. Wolday Amha (1994) Food grain marketing development in Ethiopia after the market reform 1990: A case study of Ababa Seraro district. Ph.D dissertation, Verlag Koster, Berlin, 1994
34. Wolday Amha (1992) Economic efficiency of food grain marketing in Southern Ethiopia, after the March 1990 Reform (1992). In Mekonen Tadesse, The Ethiopian Economy: Structures, problems and policy issues, 1992, Addis Ababa. PP. 119 - 36.
35. Wolday Amha (1989) Statistical analysis of the determinants of academic achievement in tertiary education. A case study of students in Awassa College of Agriculture. A paper presented on the 40th anniversary of the Ethiopian Teacher's Association, 1989, Awassa. (Unpublished)
36. Wolday Amha (1988) Personal earnings in Ethiopian state-owned manufacturing: The case of Ediget cotton factory, East African Economic Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1988, PP. 59-64.
37. Wolday Amha (1988) Factors affecting farm income and fertilizer use in Ethiopia: A case study of Shebedino district, a research report submitted to Awassa College of Agriculture, Awassa, 1988. (Unpublished)
38. Wolday Amha (1987) An estimation of the demand for and supply of food in Ethiopia (1986-1995), with particular emphasis on cereals and pulses. A paper presented on the 10th anniversary of the Ethiopian Journal of Agricultural Science, 1987, Addis Ababa (Unpublished).
39. Wolday Amha (1986) The problem of wage determination in Ethiopia: A case study of the state owned textile industries, M.Sc. Thesis, 1986, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa (Unpublished)
40. Wolday Amha (2001) Agricultural Input and Output Marketing in Remote Areas: Ethiopia. A Study submitted to the policy analysis unit (PAU) in Harare, FAO, Harare

CONSULTANCY SERVICES

• Participated on feasibility study for slaughterhouses in regional center/Towns financed by World Bank under Addis Anteneh and Associates, 1995, A.A.
• Consultant to World Bank. Produced the final report to PHRD project entitled " Private and social return to schooling in Ethiopia", Report No. 9, Addis Ababa. 1996.
• Commissioned paper for ECA, A study on training needs and approaches for a vitalized informal sector in Africa, Addis Ababa, 1996.
• Team leader of consultants on preparing ten years Development plan of Sidama (Sidama 2006) and Sidama Development Programme (SDP), Irish-Aid Ethiopia, 1996
• Prepared a training manual on " Integrated rural development in Ethiopia for Worda and Zone level policy makers' (Amharic), Ethiopian Management Institute, Addis Ababa, 1996.
• Trainer for CRDA Extension Training on agricultural input and output marketing and food security in Ethiopia, DSE, Debreziet, 1996.
• Team leader of consultants on feasibility study of Micro-dams and river diversions in Eastern Tigray for Irish-Aid Ethiopia, ETDP, 1996, Addis Ababa.
• Seed marketing consultant for Afri-Consultant, A study for Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE) finance by World Bank. This national level study is at present in the process of being finalized. It mainly deals on improving the efficiency of seed marketing under the new environment. My part was on estimating the demand and the seed pricing policy for ESE (1998).
• Mentored four NGOs on project preparation, monitoring and evaluation from May 1997- December 1997 1997. This was financed by Pact-Ethiopian.
• Evaluated the food security sector of the development program of Action Aid Ethiopia in Dalocha and Koysha Development Areas (1998)
• Participated in DPPC and World Food Programme Meher 1998 crop assessment. I represented the World Food Program in the assessment.
• Participated in the cost of production study of MOA extension department and RELMA (1998) as consultant.
• Team leader of consultants, Participatory Progress Assessment (PPA), Land use Planning and Resource Management project in Oromia (LUPO), (GTZ Project), May, 1999
• Trainer, Agricultural management for Africa (AMTA), Training of trainers workshop (7^th June 27- August, 1999), Ethiopia Management Institute, Addis Ababa
  
  

Extracurricular Activities

• Editor of Microfinance Development Review, Bulletin of AEMFI
• Associate editor of the Ethiopian Journal Agricultural Economic (1997-1999)
• President of the Ethiopian Economic Association (!997-May 2000)
• Member, the Ethiopia Society of Agricultural Economists
• Member of the national advisory committee to promote the export of agricultural products in Ethiopia
• External examiner of the post graduate program of Geography Department and RDLS, Economics Department, AAU, Addis Ababa