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PROMISED HOMES COME WITH DEBT


In northern Addis Abeba, a neighbourhood known for its vibrant community has become a symbol of relocation, as city authorities push forward with an ambitious riverside development project. Longtime residents who lived modestly in public houses, payi...

May 11 , 2025


Fortune News

Revenue Rises Falter Under Weight of Smuggling Surge, Depreciation, Inflation

KEY TAKEAWAYS Ministry of Revenue collected 653.2 billion Br, surpassing its target but falling short of the federal government's broader fiscal goals. The large informal economy and illicit t...

May 11 , 2025

Money Market Watch

Birr's Gentle Drift Shows Banks Divergent Forex Strategies, Market Strain

Key Takeaways: The CBE leads with the lowest benchmark rates, signalling its role as a policy instrument first. Oromia Bank offers the highest dollar rates to attract retail cash and ease i...

May 11 , 2025

News Analysis

Siinqee Bank Accelerates Growth, Struggles to Convert Scale into Profit

Key Takeaways Siinqee Bank transitioned from microfinance roots to become a notable player in the commercial banking industry, marking an 82.7pc net profit increase. Regulatory credit growth...

May 11 , 2025


Latest Updates

Ministry Pushes Auto Policy Shift as Industry Hits the Brakes

Key Takeaways A draft automotive policy prioritises electric and alternative fuel vehicles to...

May 11 , 2025


Worker Turnover, Export Slump Test Industrial Parks

Key Takeaways The exit of 37,000 workers from industrial parks revealed labour churn, posing...

May 12 , 2025


Avocado Boom Faces a Bitter Harvest Despite Lofty Promises, Fragile Supply Chains

KEY TAKEAWAYS Federal officials plan to capitalise on a record 18.1 million tonnes of avocados...

May 11 , 2025







Agenda

Debt Deadlines Test the Promise of Addis Abeba's Makeover

Key Takeaways: Many residents in Addis Abeba face financial pressure due to the city-development corridor project, which has inadequate affordable housing options. The ongoing corridor development covers 132Km and affects over 2,800hct...

May 11 , 2025


They Worked for Decades, Now They Struggle to Survive

Key Takeaways: Many Ethiopian retirees live on pensions that barely cover the increasing costs of living. Only a small fraction of the elderly popula...

May 4 , 2025


In the Shadows of Renewal, a Generation Struggles to Find Its Place

Takeaways: Hana Melaku's story demonstrates the personal turmoil within the broader issue of mass relocation in Addis Abeba. Overcrowded classrooms...

Apr 27 , 2025







Editorial

Ethiopia's Aid Reckoning Demands a Homegrown Rescue Plan

Federal legislators recently summoned Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), head of the Disaster Risk Management Commission (DRMC), to explain a new bill designed to streamline the country's response to emergencies. A defining part of the bill is the introduct...

May 10 , 2025


When Pension Funds Nap Inflation Steals the Blanket

Pensioners have learned, rather painfully, the gulf between a figure on a passbook and a loaf of bread. A monthly allowance of 5,000Br (about 38 dollars at last week's weighted average rate) used to keep senior retirees in groceries, rent, and a little dignity...

May 3 , 2025

Policymakers Trudge Down a Path of Punitive Taxation

Benjamin Franklin famously quipped that “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Yet, when taxes themselves threaten economic life, policymakers should reconsider their methods. Ethiopia's leaders seem keen to test this grim hypothesis, relentlessly in...

Apr 26 , 2025







Exclusive Interview

Legacy Businesses in a Liminal Era

At first light in Addis Abeba's Qality District, the smell of freshly roasted Yirgacheffe beans drifts into the yeasty haze from Shoa Bakery's ovens, a blend that sums up Ethiopia's family firms. Such outfits are scarce everywhere, yet in Ethiopia, roughly 40pc are run by second-generation heirs and...

Apr 19 , 2025


The Roast of Resilience Brews in Bloodline

When her father died suddenly in 2008, Heleanna Georgalis found herself at the helm of Moplaco Trading Plc, a venerable coffee company founded in 1897 during Emperor Menelik's reign. Thrust into leadership amid profound grief, she had to steer the uncharted...

Apr 19 , 2025

Ink, Blood and Family Bonds Shape a Quiet Printing Empire

Chamber Printing House Plc was established in 1965 by Asfaw Tefera and Tiruwork Mengistu. Asfaw, then a diplomat at the Ethiopian Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, spent his spare time in a friend's printery and caught the printing bug. With a 4,000 Br loan he set...

Apr 19 , 2025







Viewpoint

Mothers' Cry Echoes Across Borders as the Emirates Step In

Where traditional birth attendants light a small lamp to guide expectant mothers through the dim corridor, in a country that has cut its under-five mortality rate in half over the last two decades, the fragile progress can be undone by a shortage of clean water, a lack of skilled care or a single bout of malaria in a newborn. Against this backdrop, Abu Dhabi's philanthropic circles are quietly...

May 11 , 2025


Manufacturing-Led Export Strategies Still Make Sense

With the spectre of deglobalisation looming large, developing economies are scrambling to devise new growth strategies. The most effective path to development in recent history – specialising in export-oriented, unskilled labour-intensive manufacturing – n...

May 10 , 2025

Rising Prosperity Best Cure for a Ailing Planet

It is tempting to believe that the world is on the brink of environmental collapse. We are constantly inundated by dire predictions of climate catastrophe and warnings about the planet's imminent destruction. But, this is misleading. Rather than spiralling...

May 3 , 2025


My Opinion

Soaring Rents, Speculative Land Deals Chokes Addis Abeba

When the first rays of sunlight hit Addis Abeba, they illuminate two very different realities. In one, glass towers and sleek condos rise from the skyline, telltales to a city on the move. In the other, rows of tin-roofed homes huddle in narrow alleyways, their occupants stoking morning fires that send plumes of smoke into the air. The distant roar of bulldozers hints at yet another transformat...

May 10 , 2025


Minimum Wage Promises Remain Unfulfilled as Employees Toil for Less

Six years after the labour law called for a Wage Board and nearly a century after the country first toyed with wage setting, the floor that would protect millions of low-income workers is still missing. The Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) has...

May 3 , 2025

The Activism Gets Funded But Not the Women Beneficiaries

Gender activism has become so well-funded that it can almost afford to forget its original purpose. Over the past decade, international NGOs and donor-funded programs working on women's empowerment have grown dramatically. Yet, despite substantial financial in...

Apr 26 , 2025






Featured

Curtain Falls on a Capital Stage as Theatre Fights for Its Life

Key Takeaways Despite an increasing production rate, the National Theatre struggles with a substantially reduced audience size post-pandemic. Financial pressures, heightened by steep increases in stage rentals, drive playwrights to seek alternative venues, impacting the quality of performances. The decline from five to one operational theatre in Addis Abeba marks a cultural loss, limiting both artistic expression and audience choice. New leadership and the reopening of theatres...

May 4 , 2025


Commentaries

Sharia-Compliant Banks Lose Ground as Interest-Free Windows Sweep the Market

Global Islamic finance, rooted in the prohibition of interest (riba), risk-profit sharing, asset backing, and socially responsible investment, grew to roughly 3.1 trillion dollars last year, growing by about 10pc annually. Sadly, Ethiopia's experiment with fully-fledged Islamic (Sharia-compliant) banking has fallen short of its promise. The National Bank of Ethiopia's (NBE) directive issued in 2019 to license "interest-free banking (IFB) business” finally opened the door to Sharia-compliant...

May 10 , 2025


News Analysis

Siinqee Bank Accelerates Growth, Struggles to Convert Scale into Profit

Key Takeaways Siinqee Bank transitioned from microfinance roots to become a notable player in the commercial banking industry, marking an 82.7pc net profit increase. Regulatory credit growth ceilings have driven Siinqee Bank to explore alternative revenue streams, focusing on interbank operations and treasury securities. The Bank's asset growth of over 72pc displayed its transformational scale, although a low loan-to-deposit ratio revealed limitations in capital productivity. ...

May 11 , 2025


Delicate Number

1

The cash reserve in Birr held by Ethiopost in the fiscal year 2023/24, registering a staggering increase of 259pc from the previous year. However, such an increase was disproportionate to the Enterprise’s operating cash flow (200 million Br) and net income (139 million Br). The supporting cash flow statement does not clearly reconcile how such an enormous increase materialised, particularly as financing activities netted a negative flow of 58.6 million Br.

May 10 , 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

"Aid is an industry; it's political."

Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), commissioner of the Disaster Risk Managment Commission, told Fana Broadcasting Corporate, defending a bill before Parliament to establish a national fund for disaster response.






Fortune Video




Sunday With Eden

Raising Builders, Not Spenders

Raising Builders, Not Spenders Over lunch recently, my husband and I sat with a young friend from one of Ethiopia's wealthiest families. She was launching her own business, an ambitious venture, not a vanity project, despite having access to a family fortune worth billions of birrs. Her parents urged her to take a comfortable seat in their sprawling empire. Instead, she is choosing a harder...

May 10 , 2025


Is Struggle the Secret Ingredient in Parenting?

In an age obsessed with convenience and instant gratification, parenting stands at a crossroads. Many of us, with the best intentions, try to smooth every bump in our children's path; solving problems before they arise, shielding them from discomfort, and givi...

May 3 , 2025

When the Lens Crosses a Line

Over two years ago, on our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I wanted to do something meaningful. We decided to recreate our wedding as a quiet celebration of love, growth, and everything in between with our first child growing inside me. We spared...

Apr 26 , 2025


Life Matters

When a Comment Cuts Deep, Thank the Shadow

There are moments when a comment from a friend, partner, or colleague strikes a nerve, not with casual irritation but with a jolt of anger or defensiveness. The instinct may be to argue, dismiss, or counterattack. Yet beneath the immediate emotional surge, there often lies an unsettling recognition: the remark may have touched on something uncomfortably true. This is a classic moment in the dra...

May 10 , 2025


Less Stuff, More Life

There is a little thrill that comes with buying something new, the excitement of having the means, walking out with a bag in hand. That moment can feel validating, even joyful. It is easy to get swept up, purchasing not just what is needed, but whatever catche...

May 3 , 2025

The House That Deceit Built

A strange paradox continues to surface: what might happen if lying were to vanish entirely from human life? If all communication were filtered through unrelenting, unvarnished truth, the initial impression might be one of clarity. Yet, such a world could quick...

Apr 26 , 2025





Radar

Safaricom Introduces Cashless Fuel Payments with M-PESA

Safaricom has introduced a new digital payment service, allowing customers to pay for fuel using M-PESA. The "Pay for Fuel with M-PESA" service was officially launched on May 7, 2025, at the Bole Total Fuel Station on Bole Road. This initiative aims to enhance convenience for drivers by enabling quick and secure transactions without the need for cash or waiting for change. During the launch eve...

May 11 , 2025


Ethio Telecom Launches New Marketplace with Cash-Back Guarantee

Ethio Telecom has launched Zemen Gebeya, a nationwide digital marketplace integrated into the telebirr SuperApp, offering a secure platform for consumers and businesses to trade goods and services. The platform includes a built-in escrow service, allowing payments to be held temporarily until the buyer confirms delivery. If a product is not delivered or the buyer is dissatisfied, the payment is re...

May 11 , 2025

In Picture

BUCKET BLOSSOMS

Walking the fine line between art and hustle, flower vendors make their way past the National Theatre—where the stage isn't the only place for a show! Their vibrant displays capture the attention of passersby, offering a different kind of performance, full of colour and life catering to seasonal occassions such as graduations...

May 11 , 2025


OFF LIMITS

The new park in Casanchis, set to be a hub of leisure and activity, is currently off-limits, with tape blocking its entrance. Residents who had been excited to explore the green space are left waiting, wondering when the park will open its doors to the public...

May 11 , 2025