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BREWS FEEL HEAT OF SPIRALING PRICES


Traditional coffee vendors in Mesalemia neighbourhoods embody a dilemma now playing out across the capital. Within a week, bean costs soared by 100 Br from 650 Br, forcing them to charge 25 Br a cup, an unwelcome hike for consumers. Daily sales have...

Mar 16 , 2025


Fortune News

Tax Squeezed, Businesses Cry Foul as Penalties Mount

A new directive is beginning to shake up the tax regime with tougher penalties for non-compliance. Federal tax authorities are claiming to fight under-reporting and boost revenue collections. Under Ay...

Mar 16 , 2025

Money Market Watch

Hijira, Lion Banks Push Limits as Brewed Buck Slips 2.1pc against the Dollar

An escalating divergence in the foreign exchange market is rattling confidence in the Birr, (Brewed Buck), as banks aggressively compete amid acute shortages of foreign currency. Despite recent interv...

Mar 16 , 2025

News Analysis

ZamZam Bank's Profit Soars, But High Liquidity Looms Large

ZamZam Bank demonstrated measured growth and cautious risk management, placing it in a strong position within the niche Sharia-compliant market it pioneered as a fully-fledged interest-free financial...

Mar 16 , 2025


Latest Updates

Transport Authorities Break State Monopoly on Logistics

In an unambiguous policy shift, the federal government has granted operational licenses to three com...

Mar 21 , 2025


In Amhara Regional State, New Taxes Promise Growth, But Stoke Concern among Businesses

Local authorities in towns across the Amhara Regional State have begun enforcing newly revised tarif...

Mar 19 , 2025


In Tigray State, Businesses Struggle as War-Torn Region Faces Steep Levies

Two years after the civil war left Tigray Regional State in ruins, a contentious effort to rebuild t...

Mar 16 , 2025








Agenda

Coffee Bean's Rebellious Price Surge Leaves Local Market Parched

Addis Abeba's coffee culture is under siege as soaring prices ripple through every level of the market, from humble street vendors to bustling market stalls. Fantu Welde, a traditional coffee pot vendor in Mesalemiya, is one example. She is forced...

Mar 16 , 2025


Industries Under Fire from Sheger City's Tax Blitz

A long-standing operator in the water bottling industry, SBG Industry Plc., bottlers of 'Arki' water,has faced operational difficulties recently. A dispute with...

Mar 9 , 2025


False Overseas Job Promises Leave Seekers Bankrupt

Masresha Alebel, 37, hoped to improve his family's circumstances by seeking employment in Romania. He encountered a company that presented an opportunity he fou...

Mar 2 , 2025







Editorial

A Country Governed by Guesswork, While Millions Lost in the Shadows

Ask anyone about the population of Addis Abeba, and a straightforward answer proves elusive. Wikipedia claims the city's population reached 5.7 million this year. Worldpopulationreview.com, however, puts the figure at nearly six million. The UN's Hum...

Mar 16 , 2025


The GMO Experiment Can Be Harvest of Hope, Not Seed of Trouble

Five years ago, 11 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), together with 40 allies across Africa, demanded a five-year moratorium on Ethiopia's use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They wanted clear regulations and “proper” public consultations. Th...

Mar 9 , 2025

Mismanaged, Trade Liberalisation Could Pour Cold Water on Local Hopes

The domestic economy has endured a punishing half-decade. A global pandemic throttled trade, a civil war inflicted grave damage to livelihoods and external financing, and persistent unrest in two of its largest regional states continues to sow misery. Yet, Pri...

Mar 2 , 2025







Exclusive Interview

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitive powerhouses, the sovereign wealth manager, Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is at a defining moment. At the helm is Brook Taye (PhD), its third CEO since its founding in 2020, whose vision departs from convent...

Dec 22 , 2024


State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitive powerhouses, the sovereign wealth manager, Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is at a defining moment. At the helm is Brook Taye (PhD), its third CEO since its founding in...

Dec 22 , 2024

Patience - Consistency - Respect

France's Ambassador to Ethiopia up until last week, Remi Marechaux, arrived in Addis Abeba four years ago with a dual mandate of representing his country and engaging with the African Union (AU). He dove into familiar waters from his previous role as Director...

Aug 4 , 2024







Viewpoint

Women Grow Africa's Food but Rarely Own the Land

Women form the foundation of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, comprising 66pc of the workforce in agrifood systems. They cultivate land, plant seeds, harvest crops, and bring food to market, sustaining families and communities alike. According to the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), their contributions underpin an agricultural sector responsible for about 21pc of the region's gross dom...

Mar 16 , 2025


Billions for Green Energy, Yet the World Stays in the Dark

Our planet and its inhabitants are in trouble. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that to meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement and keep global warming below 2° Celsius (relative to preindustrial levels), renewable energy sh...

Mar 16 , 2025

Addis Abeba's Turbocharged Transformation Meets Dutch-Style Ambition

My time in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, pursuing postgraduate studies and working at the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD), left a lasting impression. I vividly recall the city's intricate canals and grasped first-hand the challenges of living...

Mar 9 , 2025


My Opinion

Right to Addis Abeba in the Age of Glitzy Facelift

Addis Abeba is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Gleaming high-rises, luxury apartment buildings, and sprawling infrastructure projects now symbolise the city's rapid renewal. As construction crews move forward with the second phase of the corridor project, the commute for many residents, including my own, has become a daily cruising around excavators and dust clouds. Like the old saying goes...

Mar 16 , 2025


When Help Comes with Strings Attached, Food Aid Has Hidden Cost

I recently overheard two strangers on my commute locked in a heated debate about food aid and the implications of USAID's gutting. They spoke of conspiracies that food aid targets at population control or comes laced with hidden health hazards. Their tone, fil...

Mar 9 , 2025

In Carbon Market, Corporations Buy Guilt, Not Change

Carbon markets have often been hailed as the foundation of global climate initiatives. They allow states and companies to buy credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. Polluters can continue their business operations while supposedly neutralising their...

Mar 2 , 2025






Featured

Trapped Between Sunlight, Soaring Costs, Farmers Struggle to Ditch Diesel

Fenta Atele gazes at the shrinking shores of Lake Abaya, in Southern Regional State, worry etched on his face. Until recently, the lake's plentiful water allowed him and his fellow farmers to irrigate their thriving crops of bananas, onions, vegetables, wheat, and fruits. Today, however, he is wrestling with an economic crisis sparked by rising fuel costs. He used to earn 200,000 Br monthly when fuel prices were below 30 Br a litre. Now that retail gas prices have climbed steeply, Fenta's far...

Mar 16 , 2025


Commentaries

Sorghums Silent Struggle in Battles for Relevance

Long recognised as a cradle of crop biodiversity, Ethiopia has historically ranked sorghum third among its cereals, after teff and maise. Sorghum is not merely another cereal for Ethiopia but is woven deeply into the fabric of its rural livelihoods. However, recent official efforts to ramp up wheat production have pushed it down to fourth place. Yet, the sorghum crop remains vital, comprising between 17pc to 20pc of the total cereal grain output, primarily grown by smallholder farmers in the moi...

Mar 16 , 2025


News Analysis

ZamZam Bank's Profit Soars, But High Liquidity Looms Large

ZamZam Bank demonstrated measured growth and cautious risk management, placing it in a strong position within the niche Sharia-compliant market it pioneered as a fully-fledged interest-free financial institution. Its balanced lending strategy, robust capital buffers, and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives mark it as a promising prospect. Nonetheless, analysts say managing liquidity pressures, curbing rising operational costs, and adapting strategically to rapidly evolving industry benchmar...

Mar 16 , 2025


Delicate Number

5,130

The value in Birr an individual needs annually to buy a basket of food that provides the minimum nutritional requirements. Close to 17pc of urban households are unable to afford this.

Mar 16 , 2025


Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the media, showcasing what polling stations will look like during the upcoming national elections; and they took the...

Oct 3 , 2020


Verbatim

"It's easier to proceed than to reserve course."

Payton Knopf, a former US deputy special envoy for the Horn of Africa, and Alexander Rondos, previously the EU’s special representative for the region, have called on leaders from the Western countries and the Gulf States to intervene before hostilities break out between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Writing in Foreign Policy, the two veteran diplomats warned that tensions risk escalating into open conflict if an international effort defuse the situation pre-emptively.






Fortune Video




Sunday With Eden

Opening Up: A Risk Worth Taking

A friend once shared her family's struggles with a group of people who had admired her life. They used to say they envied her. But after she opened up, they spread rumours and began to look down on her. They belittled her and used her family's problems to shame her in public. What should have been a moment of vulnerability became a source of regret. In times of crisis, people naturally turn to...

Mar 16 , 2025


The Power of Persistence in the Face of Pain

Pain is often seen as a roadblock, but for some, it becomes a catalyst for transformation. When faced with deep struggles, they confront their limits and find new ways to push forward. Indeed, the greatest breakthroughs often emerge not when life is easy, but...

Mar 9 , 2025

The Emotional Toll of Worry

Last week, I spoke with an expecting mother from church. After congratulating her, I shared my excitement. Out of curiosity, I asked where she was going for prenatal checkups. To my surprise, she said she had not started yet. Though already in her second trime...

Mar 2 , 2025


Life Matters

Scrolling for Symptoms: The Pitfalls of Online Self-Diagnosis

It is striking how much social media has threaded itself into the fabric of our lives. Beyond connecting us, it has become a primary source of news, education, and even health information, both physical and mental. Platforms like TikTok, with their rapid scroll of short, punchy videos, have become massive hubs for sharing personal stories, and mental health is a popular topic. On one hand, it i...

Mar 16 , 2025


About Pringles, Wrestling with Luxury in a Land of Need

The other day, after lunch, my family and I wandered into a supermarket. The children had finished their meals and were eager for a treat. As we browsed the aisles, the children darted around, grabbing whatever they could, while we admonished them to come clos...

Mar 9 , 2025

Online Toxicity Hijacks Social Media

One minute, people are laughing at a meme on social media; the next, they scroll through a barrage of comments ranging from mildly irritating to downright ruthless. Honestly, I am not sure I am mentally equipped for that kind of constant online friction. Such...

Mar 2 , 2025





Radar

Somali, Amhara Regional States Receive Major Water Project Boost

Over 650 million Br is being invested in crucial drinking water projects across the Somali and Amhara regional states, with initiatives launched to improve access to clean water for thousands of residents. Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) has commenced projects in Nogob and Liben Zones of the Somali region, and formalised a contract for oversight of the Agam Ber Drinking Water Project in the Am...

Mar 16 , 2025


Capital Market Authority Extends Public Company Registration Deadline, Warns Against Unlicensed Investment Bank

Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) has granted a final one-month extension for publicly held companies to register, setting the new deadline for April 9, 2025. The extension applies specifically to companies with over 50 shareholders, who are required to submit comprehensive documentation across all industries. Mandatory details include the total number of shareholders, the total number...

Mar 16 , 2025

In Picture

BLISTERING BLAZES

A group of people are sitting in the corner, each covering themselves with an umbrella. They desperately wait for the bus, as they hide themselves from the scorching sun in the mid-afternoon around Bole. Climate change is becoming a major concern for the country grappling with escalating food insecurity, economic headwinds, and security challenges. A recent report outlined a severe food insecurity...

Mar 16 , 2025


EMBELLISHED BEHEMOTH

Construction skeletons are visibly seen on the side of a freshly corridor-stroked Kazanchis. While one of the buildings is being constructed, the other one is being torn down. The taller building has been covered up by a green protective netting at the top to prevent wood materials from falling down. Construction-related fatalities and hazards are becoming a big concern. Surveys conducted in sever...

Mar 16 , 2025