Up until Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia, it was the only native African state to have escaped the ravages European conquest, in spite of prior Italian attempts. Absent that conquest, with Britain's colonial expansion winding down, it would have made it through the colonial era unscathed.
So would the Ethiopian nation without ravages of Mussolini have been high-functioning by African standards? Would a second-world or even first-world standard of living be too optimistic a hope?
It certainly had prestige amongst the world's black population prior to the conquest, with it's emperor even worshiped as a God by the Rastafarian movement. So it would surely influence the former colonies as they became independent as- having not just the prestige but greater means to do so due to escaping the damage to it's wealth and state infrastructure. On the other hand their elites were typically European educated and influenced rather then culturally indigenous, so that would likely cause problems for any ambitions by Ethiopia for a leadership role on the continent.