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Jan 28 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU

FUND STRAPPED YOUTH

Last week saw thousands of young individuals queueing at three branches of the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) in the capital to register for the fourth round of a five-day "business training". Many were lured by the hope of gaining sizeable loans without collateral, contingent upon undertaking t...

Jan 21 , 2023 . By DANIEL METAFERIA

Car Market Steer

One fine mid-morning last week, Imran Muhedin, 36, visited the Ethio Credit Systems (ECS) showroom to buy a 2020 model Suzuki Dzire vehicle. He sustained an accident a while back, driving on the Addis-Adama expressway with his carbon blue Toyota Vitz 2005 model. He claims that he lost control of the steering wheel while accelerating over 100Km per hour, causing a swerve that turned into a rollover accident. Imran explained that his car was initially manufactured as a right-wheeled vehicle which was reversed. Unfortunately, some features of the car were not altered. He recalls the airbag rem...


Jan 14 , 2023 . By BERSABEH GEBRE

It's One After the Other

Kalkidan, 36, a mother of two, makes a daily commute from her home around Ayat Tafo to the Amist Kilo area (covering 18Km) where she works. She moved to the capital's outskirts two years ago, looking for affordable housing that averages 6,000 Br monthly rent. Her husband is an informal dealer hustling in the city. Kalkidan cannot benefit from the transport system designated for public employees as she has to take her daughter to school. By the time she is done with the house chores and dropping off her child at the nearby school, she has to deal with the long queue for public transport coup...


Jan 7 , 2023 . By RAHEL BOGALE

Sagged Holiday Market Grips Capital

One of the largest open markets, Shola Gebeya near the Megenagna area, was not radiating its usual ora. Shola is one of the largest trade hubs in Addis Abeba, hosting thousands of traders selling food and non-food items. The traders are in sorrow as a fire started at a boutique last Monday night had expanded to different corners, leaving some partially burned while destroying corners that sold butter. Most are shattered by the event, while some try to toughen up, huddling around the butter corner. The fire burned close to 80 shops, and the accident caused a loss of an estimated 50 million B...

Agenda

Jan 1 , 2023

Bring Own Fluids: Hospitals Tell Patients

Tikur Anbesa Hospital has a cancer treatment centre on the ground floor. Medical professionals busy themselves by checking on their patients, room after the other. The gateway to the ward is huddled,...

Dec 24 , 2022

A Tale of Two Logistics Corridors

A station in Qality, on the outskirts of Addis Abeba, was filled last week with heavy trucks and freight loaded with all kinds of imported goods. Four security personnel wearing blue uniforms and kee...

Dec 17 , 2022

KNEE-JERK LOSS!

On midday last week, a few hours short of the customary lunchtime, the 40-year-old Fozia Nesro and her sister walked into one of the private hospitals in the capital to get routine dialysis treatment...

Dec 10 , 2022

Betting Frenzy Sweeps Addis Abeba

Last Thursday, a sports bar around the Mekanisa area was packed with goers glued to a 60-inch screen TV. The loud noise of a bar was uncharacteristically absent, but the sudden roars from the crowd we...

Dec 4 , 2022

Car Dilemma to Go Electric: Missing the Combustion

Brook Asegid is a car importer who has brought over 10 electric vehicles (EVs) in the last two years. He intends to bring only electric-powered cars henceforth. Brook noticed the demand for electri...

Nov 27 , 2022

Truculent Foreign Banks, Fragile Industry, Bullish Central Bank

Zemedeneh Negatu, an investment consultant, had his team approached by boards of directors and senior executives of 10 private banks a few months ago. For two decades, he made his name working as a pa...

Nov 19 , 2022

Tramadol: Narcotics Clouding a Generation

The 17-year-old student sat on the chair wearing an oversized black hoodie that swallowed his stature. He was in the Principal's office with a bruised face and red eyes. His lips were trembling, and h...

Nov 12 , 2022

Desperate & Despairing

On a broad range of plots on Gabon St. (stretching between Meskel Flower to Agona Cinema) lie a foundation for a five-storey building, one of many construction project sites left idle. They seem to re...

Nov 5 , 2022

Melancholy Businesses Pick Up the Rubble

Small business owners in Merkato, Africa's largest open market space, were dumbfounded by the sudden gridlock of transactions two weeks ago. It was in the aftermath of a consequential decision by fede...

Oct 22 , 2022

HOPE OR HYPE?

Farming was a calling to Getachew Tessema, who left his hometown Wonji, central Ethiopia, 54 years ago in search of work. Years later, he landed in Afar Regional State and slowly got enough resources...

Oct 15 , 2022

Ethiopia on Edge Fraught with Default Risks

Amidst alarmingly low foreign exchange reserves, a flock of senior Ethiopian officials on the economic front were in Washington D.C. last week, pleading for the resumption of external debt restricting...

Oct 8 , 2022

Worried Students, Apprehensive Parents, Bullish Education Officials

Hundreds of thousands of students will sit for the national exams across the country but in a significantly changed arrangement leaving their families anxious. Unlike before, students leaving high sch...

Oct 1 , 2022

Forex Troubles Dip to New Lows

The irony could not have been lost on Abel, in his late 20s, whenever he goes around the National Theater, on Gambia St., searching for forex dealers. Less than a kilometre is the headquarters of the...

Sep 24 , 2022

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...

Sep 18 , 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 run around Addis Abeba looking for school...

Sep 10 , 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 selling food and non-food items, the market...


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FUND STRAPPED YOUTH

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Can Mamo Overhaul the Central Bank? It’s Long Overdue.


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Can Mamo Overhaul the Central Bank? It’s Long Overdue.

It is not common to see an appointment for a senior federal government office stir debates...

Editorial | Jan 28 , 2023

Trailblazer Energy Firm LydetCo Goes Off-Grid

On the capital's outskirts, at about 400 meters from the Ayat roundabout, sits a sparkling...

Featured | Jan 28 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU

FUND STRAPPED YOUTH

Last week saw thousands of young individuals queueing at three branches of the Development...

Agenda | Jan 28 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU

"MISS" MATCHED APPOINTMENTS

In what has become common in the past four years, a new round of nominations was put befor...

Fortune News | Jan 28 , 2023