CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES IN THE CASE OF BURAYU TOWN

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the challenges and opportunities of investment activities in Burayu town specifically. Specifically, the study was conducted to identify the types of investment activities involved, to examine the challenges of private investment and to find out the major opportunities of private investment activities. Descriptive research design was employed and mixed research approach was employed where data was collected from 125 firm representatives although semi-structured questionnaires.The findings of the study show that the firms were under three status pre-implementation, under implementation, and at operation. The firms are engaged on 15 different business sectors where the dominant investments were food, textile and textile products, and beverage industry. The findings of the study further shows a request of detail feasibility, inadequate credit and finance and banks bureaucracy was the main dominant problems observed with regard to load access. In terms of infrastructural challenges the most rated investors challenge were Electric power, water and sewerage, telephone and roads authorities. Apart from the sluggish judicial system, the highly boring bureaucratic system to get utilities such as water, electric, bank loans and investment license were highly constrained the investment activities in the district. The study also found out that the newly building infrastructural facilities such as road, communication, network, electric power etc. is a good opportunity for the current and future private investment. The current number of population and economic growth is also the other opportunity as demand in the area growing. In addition the availability of both skilled and unskilled labor force at lower wage rate is the other good opportunity for investment in the study area; the findings of the study also revealed that the availability and easy access to raw materials and easy access to both domestic and international market with a modern banking system, modern technology and large number of consumers is the other good opportunity for investment.