Agenda

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May 23 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

For Helen Mekonnen, 45, bread has become the measure of how far a household income can stretch in Addis Abeba. In the neighbourhood near Bulgaria St. Michael, on Tanzania St., a loaf that once was a routine purchase now requires a daily calculation before breakfast. Bread was not a luxury in her...

May 17 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE

Quiet Campaigns Speak Loudly

Genene Gedebu reached Kucha after the campaign season for the upcoming national elections opened, expecting to do what candidates do. The President of the Kucha People's Democratic Party (KPDP), established in 2018 to represent the Kucha community, Genene would meet voters and ask for their votes. The community, between the Gamo and Wolayta zones, settled in three districts and is estimated to exceed half a million people. In the previous election, KPDP won one federal parliamentary seat and three regional council seats. For the upcoming national polls set on June 1, 2026, it has fielded 5...

May 9 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU and MASTEWAL ZEMENE

Period Poverty Crisis Forces Women to Pay For Dignity

Luladay Abraham treats the arrival of her menstrual cycle less as a private inconvenience than as a monthly test of endurance. The 32-year-old accountant, who works for a construction firm on Gabon Street and lives in CMC, has hypermenorrhea, an unusually heavy and prolonged menstrual flow that turns a routine biological cycle into a disruption of work, sleep and movement. Doctors told her the condition is rare but natural, not an illness. They offered hormonal and non-hormonal medicines to control the bleeding. She found them temporary and feared the consequences of prolonged use. “I...

Apr 25 , 2026 . By MASTEWAL ZEMENE and DAGIM SEIFE

Transport Squeeze Leaves Commuters Paying the Price

Before sunrise reached the outskirts of Addis Abeba, Demelash Assefa was already on the road, measuring the city's transport crisis in minutes, fares and absences. At quarter to six early in the morning, the 49-year-old teacher left his home in Sendafa, a town northeast of the capital, for a daily endurance test. It begins with a 15 Br Bajaj ride, then a wait at 44 Mazoria, a location marked by the number of the bus serving the area, lasting more than an hour before the bus arrives. The ride to Megenagna takes another hour and 20 minutes and costs 40 Br. From there, the final leg to Arat Ki...

Agenda

The Building Boom That Rans Out of Fuel

Two unfinished buildings owned by Roman Tahir on Omedla Street near a roundabout in the Ferensay Legasion in the Gurara neighbourhood have become a quiet measure of stress in Addis Abeba's constructio...

Apr 18 , 2026

Addis Abeba's Makeover Leaves Cooperative Workers Counting the Cost

Awoke Tezera remembered how abruptly his life turned at the end of last year. A former manager of consumer cooperatives in around Sidist Kilo, he had spent years in a job that allowed him to support h...

Apr 10 , 2026

Rising Costs, Falling Purchases Shape a Quiet Easter Season Across Addis Markets

The gloomy Thursday of April 9th carries the same mood as the community itself, gloomy. Although only a few days remain until the Easter holiday, the Qera area, widely known for the sale of oxen, shee...

Apr 5 , 2026

War Engulfs the Gulf, Locals Gasp at the Pump

Biniyam Teklay has built his life around the rhythm of seasons, the beat of trade, and the delicate trust of clients spread across continents. As the founder and CEO of Bazen Plc, a small import-expor...

Mar 28 , 2026

Budget Freeze Leaves a Region Paying for Political Deadlock

Felege Asmelash, 53, has spent nearly 26 years as a public service employee in Meqelle, the seat of Tigray Regional State. For much of this time, a government paycheck covered rent, school costs and b...

Mar 21 , 2026

Empty Tanks, Longer Days for a City on the Move

Every month, when fuel supplies tighten, Sisay Abera pulls his white taxi into a queue that barely moves and waits for the day to drain away. His cab is the only way he feeds his family of five, yet m...

Mar 14 , 2026

The Tax Bill Begins to Arrive Before the Profit Does

A flour mill in Debre Marqos has become a measure of the strain on Ethiopia's formal private sector. Built on 40,000Sqm of land in Menkorerie District and designed to process 1,000Qtls of wheat into f...

Mar 7 , 2026

When an International School Isn’t International Enough

Betelhem Tekle sat outside the gates of Flipper International School, on Sierra Leone St., behind Lancia, watching her four, six, and eight-year-old children stream out at dismissal and wondering whet...

Feb 28 , 2026

Security-Driven Road Closures Squeese Motorists, Heavy Vehicles Drivers

The expansion of Addis Abeba as a diplomatic centre means that there is an increase in large events, causing street congestion. Though the new corridor development has improved the ambience of the cit...

Feb 21 , 2026

Elections Coming But Young Voters Ghost the Ballots

The national election is approaching with a strangely muted face. What once stirred streets, campuses, and café arguments now passes many young Ethiopians as background noise. For some, the vote b...

Feb 14 , 2026

Bag Ban Backfires as Factories Stall, Markets Flail

At Patina Bakery & Cake on Gabon Street, Muluken Hailu faced uncertainty because of their dependence on plastic bags. General Manager of the Bakery, he is well aware that not every type of bag is...

A Rental Law Meant to Protect Tenants Fuels Tension

It was an ordinary day for Ademu Yehulashet when her landlord told her to vacate the two-bedroom condominium she was renting. He claimed he planned to move in himself. Ademu, a mother of a son, dou...

Jan 31 , 2026

Soaring Oil Prices Squeeze the Urban Poor

At around 8:00pm last week, Saba Aschalew stood beside her frying pan near the Gotera junction, a place that usually hums with taxis, buses and late commuters. The potatoes were ready, the oil was hot...

Jan 24 , 2026

A Digital Fix Becomes a Bureaucratic Trap

In recent months, traders have flocked to the Berhan ena Selam Printing Enterprise, on Adwa St., hoping to obtain the mandatory QR Code receipts. Many have arrived carrying official letters from local...

Jan 17 , 2026

Choked by Costs, Furniture Makers Face a Slow Squeeze

The furniture manufacturing industry in Addis Abeba, once seen as a steady if unspectacular corner of the city's economy, is facing its toughest test in years. Rising input costs, most sharply felt...

Jan 10 , 2026

Driven to Despair as Promises Break Down

A row of blue-and-white Lada taxis parked on Ras Mekonnen Avenue, near Addis Abeba's Stadium, awaited passengers last week, their faded paint and battered frames a reminder of another era. Once sym...

Columns

Commentaries | May 23,2026

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has spent weeks in Addis Abeba conducting the fi...

Editorial | May 23 , 2026

Betrothal Ritual Falls Prey to the Event Economy

When Abigiya Tewodros sat for her traditional bethrothal intercession, locally known as "S...

Featured | May 17 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

For Helen Mekonnen, 45, bread has become the measure of how far a household income can str...

Agenda | May 23 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU

Africa’s Financial “Spaghetti Bowl” Meets Its Would-Be Untanglers

Brazzaville - Congo Few institutional metaphors are less flattering than the “spaghet...

Fortune News | May 28 , 2026 . By TAMRAT G. GIORGIS

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Quiet Campaigns Speak Loudly

Period Poverty Crisis Forces Women to Pay For Dignity

Transport Squeeze Leaves Commuters Paying the Price

Agenda

The Building Boom That Rans Out of Fuel

Addis Abeba's Makeover Leaves Cooperative Workers Counting the Cost

Rising Costs, Falling Purchases Shape a Quiet Easter Season Across Addis Markets

War Engulfs the Gulf, Locals Gasp at the Pump

Budget Freeze Leaves a Region Paying for Political Deadlock

Empty Tanks, Longer Days for a City on the Move

The Tax Bill Begins to Arrive Before the Profit Does

When an International School Isn’t International Enough

Security-Driven Road Closures Squeese Motorists, Heavy Vehicles Drivers

Elections Coming But Young Voters Ghost the Ballots

Bag Ban Backfires as Factories Stall, Markets Flail

A Rental Law Meant to Protect Tenants Fuels Tension

Soaring Oil Prices Squeeze the Urban Poor

A Digital Fix Becomes a Bureaucratic Trap

Choked by Costs, Furniture Makers Face a Slow Squeeze

Driven to Despair as Promises Break Down

Most read

Columns

Red Gold Makes the Case for Smarter Agri Business Strategy

When Problem-Solving Fails Because the Shape Looks Different

Global Water Cycle Critical Shared Infrastructure

A Ball, A Father, A Life-time of Memory

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

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Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

Betrothal Ritual Falls Prey to the Event Economy

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Africa’s Financial “Spaghetti Bowl” Meets Its Would-Be Untanglers

Drop us a message

COVID UPDATE

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Quiet Campaigns Speak Loudly

Period Poverty Crisis Forces Women to Pay For Dignity

Transport Squeeze Leaves Commuters Paying the Price

The Building Boom That Rans Out of Fuel

Addis Abeba's Makeover Leaves Cooperative Workers Counting the Cost

Rising Costs, Falling Purchases Shape a Quiet Easter Season Across Addis Markets

War Engulfs the Gulf, Locals Gasp at the Pump

Budget Freeze Leaves a Region Paying for Political Deadlock

Empty Tanks, Longer Days for a City on the Move

The Tax Bill Begins to Arrive Before the Profit Does

When an International School Isn’t International Enough

Security-Driven Road Closures Squeese Motorists, Heavy Vehicles Drivers

Elections Coming But Young Voters Ghost the Ballots

Bag Ban Backfires as Factories Stall, Markets Flail

A Rental Law Meant to Protect Tenants Fuels Tension

Soaring Oil Prices Squeeze the Urban Poor

A Digital Fix Becomes a Bureaucratic Trap

Choked by Costs, Furniture Makers Face a Slow Squeeze

Driven to Despair as Promises Break Down

Red Gold Makes the Case for Smarter Agri Business Strategy

When Problem-Solving Fails Because the Shape Looks Different

Global Water Cycle Critical Shared Infrastructure

A Ball, A Father, A Life-time of Memory

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

Tax Push Tests How Much Pain Taxpayers Can Bear

Betrothal Ritual Falls Prey to the Event Economy

When Bread Becomes Too Costly for Breakfast

Africa’s Financial “Spaghetti Bowl” Meets Its Would-Be Untanglers

Drop us a message

COVID UPDATE

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