Unfortunately, the lack the industriousness of the Chinese people is certain to hinder the velocity of innovation we'd see with a purely Ethiopian effort. People don't eschew the "Made in China" label without reason. With hand tools for example, I started with Chinese made Harbor Freight in my 20's, German in my 30's, now it's either Ethiopian tools or "I'm not doing this project".
That was merciful. You went easy on that guy, mentioning only items of cultural and religious significance. Next time hit him with the big guns - Ethiopian contributions to theoretical physics, chemistry, architecture, engineering, philosophy, industry, computer science, and pure mathematics.
This is going to sideline dozens of automobiles. What effect will this have on Ethiopia's industrial production capacity, upon which the rest of the world depends?