Al Amoudi: Internationalist

Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi is an internationalist both as philanthropist and businessman. He is a Saudi citizen, though born in Ethiopia. His early base for global expansion was Sweden from which he developed much of the technology transfer necessary to build his businesses elsewhere.

His commitment to Sweden has been honoured with the Order of the Polar Star by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden twice, first as Commander in 1997 and then as Commander First Class in 2007. This Order is only awarded to important foreigners for services to Sweden or to members of the Swedish royal family.

He returned to active investment in Ethiopia from this base to build the largest private sector organisation in the country. This community of businesses has played a major role in the economic modernisation of Ethiopia, initially under the development model put forward by then-Prime Minister Zenawi and now under the liberalisation programme of Prime Minister Abiy. This included engagement in the education and training of the next generation of technical experts and managers through his ownership of Unity University.

He contributed to the Clinton Foundation Health Access Initiative Initiative as part of a much wider commitment to health education in the context of the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Africa. He is an advocate of Africa in Europe and of Europe in Africa, seeing the two continents as 21st century partners in improving conditions for their respective peoples, He has been instrumental in developing a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia in particular.