Fortune News

FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Apr 13 , 2025 . By AKSAH ITALO

A Tax Shock Jolts Edible Oil Industry as Retroactive Levies Stir Confusion

Takeaways: Retroactive VAT enforcement on soybean cake has become a tax flashpoint, with liabilities rising to tens of millions of Birr for some manufacturers. The distinction between soybean flour and cake has provoked widespread operational and fiscal confusion, leading to industry-wi...

Apr 13 , 2025

MERCATO TAXED TO SILENCE

Some parts of Merkato have fallen uncharacteristically silent, contrary to its typical bustle of traders, shoppers, and hawkers vying for business across its sprawling two-square-kilometre expanse. Foot traffic was sparse, with merchants left idly worrying about a future clouded by uncertainty. Even in sections showing signs of recovery, like Shema Tera, where a devastating fire six months ago destroyed scores of shops, cautious optimism was overtaken by the sharp reality of faltering sales and anxieties over whether customers will return. The partial resurrection of Shema Tera's Nebar Buildin...

Apr 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Property Owners on Bole Road Face Uncertainty Amid Oromia Gov't Office Expansion

A redevelopment initiative along Africa Avenue (Bole Road) has set off alarm bells for property owners whose holdings fall within the area earmarked for an expansion project by the Oromia Regional Government Office. A letter dated January 26, 2025, signed by Mesafint Assefa, director of the Land Bank & Transfer Directorate, disclosed the Addis Abeba City Land Development & Administration's decision to allocate these plots for the Oromia office project. The project was launched in May 2023, after the region's President, Shimeles Abdisa, put a foundation stone. The turnkey project...

Apr 13 , 2025 . By AKSAH ITALO

Signature Fraud Claims, Alleged Political Pressure Reignite Battle for BGI Ethiopia Stake

Key Takeaways: Zewdinesh's legal battle alleged misuse of political power in corporate affairs during the 1990s. Her case emphasises the role of forensic evidence in substantiating claims of fraudulent practices. The distinction between property and contract law is decisive, affecting statutes of limitation on such disputes. Zewdinesh G. Asrat has intensified her legal battle against BGI Ethiopia Plc, asserting that she was unlawfully stripped of a 27pc stake in the company through "fraudulent documents and political coercion." Her legal team from Ethio-Alliance Advocates LLP fil...

Fortune News

Apr 14 , 2025

Labour Ministry Ambitions Stumble as Overseas Jobs Cause Costly Traps

Key Takeaways Federal legislators called for reforms and increased enforcement to protect Ethiopian workers abroad and facilitate safe legal employment pathways. Vocational training achievemen...

Apr 13 , 2025

Ministry Struggles to Fuel Industry as Coal Stalls, Gold Surges in Uneven Resource Push

Takeaways: Ethiopia's coal production met only 41pc of its target, demonstrating major infrastructural and operational challenges. Domestic coal production accounts for 64pc of cement fac...

Apr 13 , 2025

Addis Abeba Orders Taxi Terminal Shake-Up

Key Takeaways: Addis Abeba's new transport directive requires terminal facilitators to transition into industries like manufacturing or construction, ending years of service at taxi terminals....

Apr 6 , 2025

Ministry Moves to Forge Trade Policy as WTO Push Sparks Hopes, Fears

Federal officials and private sector leaders are finalising the first consolidated trade policy, trying to spur resource mobilisation and unified implementation. According to Trade & Regional I...

Apr 6 , 2025

CBE Rebounds Sharply as Profit Drive Raises Public Mandate Questions

Key Takeaways: CBE accomplished a 344.4pc increase in deposits within eight months. The Bank's total deposits increased to 1.51 trillion Br. Asset growth reached 2.03 trillion Br, a 38.3p...

Apr 6 , 2025

Insurers Struggle to Stay Afloat as Capital Rules Bite, Talent Runs Dry

Key Takeaways Ethiopian insurers will transition to IFRS 17 by 2027, meeting international standards. Insurer assets rose to 66.6 billion Br by June 2024, displaying emerging industry st...

Apr 6 , 2025

Wheat Shortage Strains Market as Soaring Prices Hit Millers

Key Takeaways: Wheat prices have surged by 50pc in two months, impacting the flour, biscuit, and brewery industries. Millers urge policy intervention to relax import rules and curb artifici...

Apr 6 , 2025

Grading Mandate Roils Addis Abeba Schools

Key Takeaways: Over 2,000 schools and 1.2 million students in Addis Abeba are affected by the new standardised continuous assessment policy. Grades one to four will see 90pc of their evaluat...

Apr 6 , 2025

SEWAGE SOARS WHILE PLANNING SINKS

Under gloomy skies in Addis Abeba's rapidly expanding Lemi Kura District, residents gathered anxiously in a Noah Real Estate compound parking lot, in the Bole Beshale neighbourhood. Facing sudden dema...

Mar 30 , 2025

Barley Supply Chains Sway Under Regional Strains

The brewing industry faces a storm, with barley shortages leading to a substantial spike in prices, a scenario that has prompted alarm among industrial leaders. Barley is a fundamental ingredient i...

Mar 30 , 2025

Ministries Unveil Strategy for Local EV Procurement

Federal officials are accelerating the shift towards domestically assembled electric vehicles (EVs), with a landmark directive prioritising them in public procurement. The initiative, backed by the mi...

Mar 30 , 2025

Authorities Eye Treasury Overhaul as Billions Vanish in Fiscal Fog

The federal government is pushing towards a single account for the treasury to consolidate its financial resources, which promises to streamline budgetary control and trim cash mismanagement. In re...

Audit Finds Millions Unspent as Transport Ministry Wrestles with Merger Delays

The Ministry of Transport & Logistics faced scrutiny after federal auditors uncovered financial irregularities, including unused funds, delayed projects, and procurement anomalies tied mainly to a...

Mar 30 , 2025

Fuel Shortage Fuels Parallel Market in Tigray State as Supplies Falter

Tigray Regional State is experiencing an acute fuel shortage that has impacted agriculture, disrupted businesses, and led to the rapid expansion of an illicit fuel market. Regional officials blame fed...

Mar 23 , 2025

A Trailblazer Returns to Build What Never Was

Brutawit Dawit, a veteran banker with extensive experience in the financial sector, has been appointed to lead Ethiopia's one of the first investment banks, Wegagen Capital Investment Bank S.C. (W...

Mar 23 , 2025

Logistics Shake-Up Lets Rivals In But Leaves ESL Steering the Ship

The opening of the logistics sector to multimodal operations has come with tight restrictions, reserving key strategic commodities and trade routes exclusively for the state-owned giant, the Ethiopian...

Columns

Commentaries | Apr 13, 2025

Officials Bank on Student Service to Patch a Fractured Country

The federal government will soon require one year of national service from university stud...

Editorial | Apr 13 , 2025

When the Lift Lets Users Down

Key Takeaways: Human stories, like Hiwot's and Mekdes', reveal dire safety lapses i...

Featured | Apr 6 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW

Trenches of Tax Turmoil

Key Takeaways: Merkato's bustling trade shows signs of a slowdown, manifesting deep...

Agenda | Apr 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER