Addisfortune-The Largest English Weekly in Ethiopia

TSEDEY BLOOMS IN SPRING

Spring has come, in the form of a commercial bank. Amhara Credit & Saving Institution restarted operations as a full-fledged bank last week with the moniker Tsedey, Amharic for spring. It was a day that put a smile on the faces of [left to right...

September 24 , 2022

Fortune News

Financial Institutions to Open Wallets for War Efforts, Again

Federal authorities are pushing heads of financial institutions - yet again - to contribute up to two percent of gross profits to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF). They are expecting the s...

September 24 , 2022

Fortune News

Health Ministry Foresees $23m National Lab Built

Lia Tadesse's (MD) Ministry of Health foresees building a national reference laboratory as part of a project funded with funds secured from the World Bank. The laboratory is slated to make Ethiopia...

September 24 , 2022

Fortune News

Incumbent Mesenbet Wins Landslide Second Term as Chamber Head

Mesenbet Shenkute has consolidated her incumbency at the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations, garnering 62pc of the votes cast last week. She was re-elected to her second te...

September 24 , 2022

Latest Updates

Unions Ink Deal with Feed Supplier as High Prices Haunt Farmers

Farmers' unions across the country have inked a deal with a private feed processing company as the c...

September 24 , 2022

Legal Advocates Grouchy Over Tax Obligations

A committee comprising tax authorities, officials from the Finance Ministry, and legal professionals...

September 24 , 2022

Boeing Pays $200m to Settle SEC Charges Over 737 Max

Boeing Co. will pay 200 million dollars to settle charges that the company and its former CEO misled...

September 24 , 2022

BACK TO PRICEY SCHOOLS

A parent haggles with a vendor while a kid checks the school items on display. The scene was Ghion...

September 18 , 2022

Agenda

Less than Sweet: Sugar Troubles Far from Over

On a hot, sunny morning last week, three saleswomen inside a narrow container in Addis Abeba's Aqaqi-Qality District were in a rush to serve a long queue formed outside. The stuffy metal container had been converted into a consumer-cooperative out...

September 24 , 2022

Back to School. At What Cost?

The vast, green lawn inside the premises of Ghion Hotel was crammed with parents and children last week. A bazaar targeted these families with little time to ru...

September 18 , 2022

Consumers Hang on Despite Turbulent Holiday Market

The narrow streets of Shola, one of the largest trading hubs in Addis Abeba, were crowded with shoppers. Packed with hundreds, if not thousands, of traders sell...

September 10 , 2022

Editorial

Why Ethiopia's Economy Catches Cold When Europe Sneezes

Look no further than the flower industry to appreciate the importance of the European market to underdeveloped economies such as Ethiopia. Within a decade and a half, the country has shot up the list of the largest flower exporters in the world to fi...

September 24 , 2022

Long Overdue Finance Sector Opening Not Silver Bullet

The debate shortly after the Council of Ministers nodded a bill to open the financial sector to foreign capital was emblematic of how the economic discourse has deteriorated. Some thought this entails Ethiopia is for sale. Others lamented that an International...

September 17 , 2022

Export Performance Seems Impressive. Details Say Otherwise

Ethiopia's policymakers and wonks began planning the economy and directing its course in the 1950s. There have been only two years since Ethiopia registered a positive balance of payment: in 1972 and another 36 years later. Its economic history is about a p...

September 10 , 2022

Exclusive Interview

SAYAT OFF A STAGE

Fortune: Which holiday do you like most? Sayat: I love all holidays. There is none to pick out. The thing I love about holidays is, on that specific day, you do not see anyone starved or teary. I love our culture when it comes to holidays. You share meals together and feed the hungry. You always...

September 10 , 2022

Focus on Migrants, Families, UN Remittance Head Urges

Fortune: - The remittance inflow to Ethiopia is around three, four billion dollars? This is against a population of a 100 million, and an annual GDP of 100 billion dollars. How do you see this in comparison with other countries at a similar level of economic d...

April 22 , 2022

AfDB Boss 'Cautiously Optimistic' about Africa

For the first time in two years, an African Union summit was held in Addis Abeba earlier this month. On the agenda were COVID-19, political instability and debt sustainability. One of the attendants was Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Ba...

February 12 , 2022

Viewpoint

Battle against Antimicrobial Resistance Requires Robust Health Systems

Staphylococcus aureus is the source of a skin infection that can turn deadly if drug resistant. Estimates regarding the most common resistant variation, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), exceed 100,000 deaths globally in 2019. But up until recently, we did not have a solid grasp on how much of a problem MRSA - or any other antimicrobial resistant pathogen - was in Africa. It t...

September 25 , 2022

Making Net-Zero Pledges Count

Walking down a Toronto street recently I saw an ad touting a fossil-fuel company's net-zero credentials. But to see such belief-straining claims, I would not even need to leave my house. According to a study by the Guardian and InfluenceMap, such ads are al...

September 24 , 2022

Elites' Disconnect on Climate Change Fuels Strife

The disconnect between the global elite and the real world is growing daily. Most people are worn down by the pandemic, food and energy price hikes and general inflation, and worried about recession. Yet, the chattering classes are jetting into conferences at...

September 17 , 2022

My Opinion

Black Market Gold Rush

We have all heard the news by now. The black market rate for one dollar is now around 90 Br. The official rate, for those with access, is around 53 Br. This is a premium of over 70pc, unheard of as far as memory serves me. Look at the Balance of Payments, and the reason why becomes clear. Despite rises in goods and service export, the four billion dollar escalation in goods' import values, has...

September 24 , 2022

Capital Investments Fall Off Cliff

There are many economic indicators that people are worried about at present. There is inflation, which has been in the 30pc to 40pc range for around a year. This is the stickiest inflationary pressure Ethiopia has experienced on record, with double digit infla...

September 17 , 2022

Just Financial Sector Liberalisation?

The Council of Ministers made a very important decision earlier this month to allow foreign investment into the financial sector. The Council approved a policy that lays the foundation for liberalising the finance sector. Much work needs to be done before any...

September 10 , 2022

Featured

TikTok: More than a Distraction

For most of human history, fame was a rare phenomenon reserved for royalty, war heroes, religious figures and a handful of others who had achieved something of incredible significance or could afford to have their names and stories printed. The idea of fame began to change in Renaissance era Europe with the birth of the concept of the artist, who could gain fame through talent regardless of social standing or wealth. This new version of celebrity spread with the rising presence of print, and...

September 13 , 2022

Commentaries

Without Surety, Construction Industry Will Collapse

As the Ethiopian insurance industry is challenged by contractors who fail to perform their contractual obligation, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), has issued restrictions on issuing financial guarantee bonds. This and similar regulatory decisions create wrong assertions about the bond market, risk management and the insurance industry as a whole. Recently, most contractors have failed to perform their contractual obligation and caused larger claims of advance payment and performance bond...

September 24 , 2022

News Analysis

Fed Seals Costly Fertiliser Deal, Demand Remains Unmet

An Abu Dhabi-based firm has agreed to supply half a million tonnes of urea to Ethiopia following months of negotiations between federal authorities and executives of FertiGlobe. It was a delicate process for both sides. The authorities had contracted FertiGlobe six months ago to supply Ethiopia with a half million tonnes of fertiliser at 710 dollars a tonne. However, the company terminated its contract claiming rising prices in the global market that jumped to 1,000 dollars in the early weeks...

Delicate Number

1,580,000,000,000

broad money supply, in Birr, at the end of the third quarter of the previous fiscal year, according to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE).

September 24 , 2022

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...

October 3 , 2020

Verbatim

US Department of State said in its latest statement after the visit of Mike Hammer, special envoy for the Horn of Africa, on the resumed fighting in the north.

Print Version

View From Arada

The Age of 'E' Ought Not End that of Plays

Last week came and passed swiftly, unusual for the weeks I was used to for as long as I remember. It looked at times like coming out triumphant from addiction, while at times, it seemed like...

September 24 , 2022

Films Review

Nope

Few would have imagined that the Peele in Key & Peele, a show on MTV's Comedy Central, would become a world-class director reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock and David Fincher. There is a sketch from Key & Peele, titled Town Hall Audience Member, one of the funniest outputs of the show, where Jordan Peele shows some promise as he acts entirely with his eyes to peak comedic effect. Other than that, at least to this author's eyes, there is nothing to indicate cinematic genius or even a great...

September 17 , 2022

RRR: PEAK OF BOLLYWOOD, FOR BETTER OR WORSE

Bollywood has finally peaked. The sentimentalism, chirpy musical numbers, physics-defying fight scenes and aggressively cheesy romantic plots have all come into their own in RRR, one of the biggest Bollywood hits in recent memory to gain an international audience. I would normally object to individual elements of the movie, including its ludicrous storyline and plot holes. But the way they have come together is strangely fascinating. RRR, which is short for “Rise, Roar, Revolt" and must be...

September 10 , 2022

Fortune Video

Sunday With Eden

The Hardest Act to Forgive, and Yet Forgiven

As we navigate life, being hurt by others is inevitable. Often, we find ourselves in a position where we have to forgive. Still, forgiving the person who killed a loved one is entirely different. To many of us, that would seem an impossible decision. But not for a couple I know. Their child got killed by an intoxicated driver in broad daylight. They swallowed their unimaginable pain and forgave...

September 24 , 2022

Somethings Must Come between Friendships

I recently received a call from a friend that lives abroad. Although we had been friends for several years after she left Ethiopia, I stopped calling her as I used to because of the many changes in my life. Her call and the topic she was discussing came as...

September 17 , 2022

Hire at One's Own Risk, Sometimes Tragedy

Last week, there was a tragic murder of children that became major news. It is impossible to comprehend the agony their parents must be feeling. Although most criminal cases do not become this publicly talked about, they are not rare. Many people have paid a p...

September 10 , 2022

Life Matters

Consumed by Cosmetics

The enormous amount of money generated by the beauty industry amazes me. How we, as consumers, take the words of producers for granted and try their products that promise us quick makeovers (be it weight loss, clear skin or hair growth) is astounding. Of course, some of the products could produce minor results at times but the changes come at the expense of our health. We are spending obscene mone...

September 24 , 2022

Egotism Brings the Worst Out of People

We meet various people across our lifetimes. Some are outgoing and opinionated; others are humble and down to earth. Yet others are egotistical creatures who feel entitled without any real title bestowed upon them – these I find annoying. A good example is p...

September 17 , 2022

No Explanation Satisfies Violence against Children

Some of us have heard about what happened in the Bole Arabsa condominiums. Two kids were strangled and stabbed, allegedly, by the housemaid. Some people took to the streets, protesting the act and demanding justice from the government and judicial bodies. Wha...

September 10 , 2022

Radar

Siinqee Leaps into Banking Industry

Siinqee Bank has made its official debut in the banking industry with a capital base that puts it on a footing with veterans. The Bank's executives celebrated the entry during a launch ceremony last week that saw the attendance of Shimelis Abdissa, head of the Oromia regional administration, and Yinager Dessie (PhD), governor of the central bank. Formally known as Oromia Credit & Saving...

September 24 , 2022

Recyclable Cash

These types of scenes can be seen around the city. People collect different types of plastic materials to sell them in return for recyclers. Water bottles make up the majority of the recyclable plastics, while many homeless people engage in the collection of the materials. ...

September 24 , 2022

In Picture

Coffee Train

Tomoca Coffee has opened another outlet inside the La Gare Train Station and is converting an old train car into a café. Open in 1917, the train station is one of the attractions of the city. It will now be part of the La Gare Eagle Hills Project. The removal of the historical Buffet De La Gare inside the train station following the start of the construction had led to an outcry...

March 14 , 2021

NEW MESQEL SQUARE

A construction crew, equipment and materials still obscure the progress of the Mesqel Square project. Nonetheless, the fencing that once enveloped the construction site has largely been removed, and the crescent-shaped steps have been installed. Costing 2.5 billion Br, the project is one of many that attempt to rehabilitate parks, public spaces and rivers of Addis Abeba...

February 13 , 2021

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1,580,000,000,000

Nope

RRR: PEAK OF BOLLYWOOD, FOR BETTER OR WORSE

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