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Author: Digital Editor

Are Country Platforms New Development Fix or Another Fading Mirage?

Posted on by Digital Editor

Every few years, a new idea captures the imagination of development experts and practitioners. Although often launched with noble intentions and great enthusiasm, many of these concepts fade quickly, leaving little lasting impact.

Will the latest entrant, country platforms, break this cycle and fulfil its promise?

While there is no universally accepted definition of a country platform, the term typically refers to frameworks whereby developing countries take the lead in setting priorities for climate action and sustainable development, and coordinating with multilateral development banks (MDBs), donors, and the private sector to mobilise the necessary financing. It is a promising concept. But if country platforms are to avoid becoming another fleeting development trend, they should begin to deliver tangible results quickly.

Aligning diverse stakeholders is essential. But getting from alignment to impact depends on getting at least four imperatives right.

The first priority is careful consideration of the respective roles of government and the private sector. Country platforms will likely depend heavily on public-private partnerships (PPPs), which are most effective when governments make strategic decisions about where private investment and expertise can add the most value. Establishing strong risk-sharing frameworks and clearly defining the terms of engagement are also essential.

The Philippines’ Public-Private Partnership Centre, established in 2010, serves as a useful model. Operating under the guidance of the Department of Finance and the Department of Economy, Planning & Development, the Centre offers early-stage project-development support, clear policy direction, and a trusted platform for aligning government and investor interests.

One key to the Centre’s success was early engagement with chambers of commerce. Another was the reform of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, which allowed unsolicited proposals to be considered, provided they underwent a competitive challenge. Therefore, rather than the government prescribing a specific solution, the private sector proposed approaches that aligned with national priorities and delivered the best value for money.

The resulting partnerships enabled the government to optimise service delivery, leveraging both private-sector efficiencies and innovation, on the one hand, and the government’s administrative capacity, on the other. The result was 45 billion dollars in financing mobilised over a decade, and the rapid transformation of the Philippines’ infrastructure.

But country platforms extend beyond PPPs, which may not be well suited to advance certain priorities, such as social-service delivery or some aspects of climate adaptation, especially in less-developed economies or post-conflict and post-disaster settings. In these cases, the public sector should be able to deliver.

This brings us to the second imperative: clear and granular delegation of ownership for implementing the agenda.

After Hurricane Maria devastated the small island state of Dominica in 2017, the government passed the Climate Resilience Act and established the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD). Backed by a mere five million dollars in donor funding for its initial four-year mandate, the Agency was up and running within three months, with highly experienced, motivated, and mostly local or regional staff in place. Despite this promising start, however, CREAD failed to live up to its potential in the first two years of its mandate, and insufficient ownership is a key reason why.

Officially, CREAD was mandated to lead the development and delivery of an ambitious, home-grown resilience agenda. But in practice, it was not given the full authority it needed to do so. Perhaps the Agency’s legal remit was considered too expansive. Or maybe its fast-paced operating style was too much of a departure from the civil-service norm. Whatever the reason, CREAD was essentially relegated to the role of adviser, even on projects where its in-house procurement or construction expertise could have been a game-changer.

CREAD had little choice but to support initiatives that had previously been approved by development partners, with predetermined scopes of work and implementation modalities. While the Agency did leave some positive legacies – it is credited with developing Dominica’s Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan and building ministerial capacity – it was unable to complete the job for which it was created, causing its initial leadership team to resign.

The broader lesson from both the Philippines and Dominica is that alignment of external partners alone cannot deliver transformative change. If country platforms are to meet their potential, they should be truly nationally defined, mission-driven, whole-of-government-led mechanisms. And governments should be prepared to operate in new and possibly unconventional ways.

Success depends on intention, ownership, and capacity, but even more so on incentives, which constitute the third imperative. For governments, external incentives like those used in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPCI) or the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative can help to drive progress. So can internal mechanisms, such as performance-based contracts for state-owned enterprises.

Development partners, for their part, should understand that their role is to support governments in achieving their priorities, not to elevate priorities of their own. And they need incentives to act accordingly at all levels. For example, technical assistance or grants from MDBs and donors should be directed to support project pipeline development and the establishment of locally-led implementation frameworks that will remain in place for the long term. There should also be incentives for MDBs to collaborate, rather than compete, with one another.

Country platforms stand a greater chance of gaining traction if they are tied to macroeconomic planning tools (such as medium-term spending frameworks and the IMF-World Bank debt-sustainability analyses) and other strategic financing instruments (such as debt-for-development swaps) – the fourth imperative. This would enable finance ministries to establish the platforms’ value from a broader macro-fiscal perspective, credibly demonstrating the benefits of increased concessional financing for growth and resilience initiatives and, by extension, credit-rating improvements.

While there is no silver bullet for development, country platforms can help advance complex investment agendas, particularly where institutional gaps in delivery or coordination are hampering progress, not least by identifying and backing the most effective projects. But good intentions and elegant frameworks will not produce these outcomes without strong public leadership, context-specific delivery models, and a relentless focus on outcomes.

 

Zohran Mamdani Rekindles Africa’s Progressive Flame

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Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s mayoral race is more than a milestone for American urban politics. It is a moment of inspiration, and a sharp reminder, for those across the African continent who once believed, and must think again, in the power of progressive politics.

The son of Uganda and one of Africa’s finest living public intellectuals and scholars, Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran has demonstrated that a people-powered and democratic socialist movement can triumph, even in the heart of global capitalism. His campaign centred on the working poor, immigrants, tenants, and youth. It listened, it organised, it built. And it won.

This is the kind of politics that once animated the African continent. And it is the kind of politics Africa urgently needs to resurrect.

It is easy to forget today, in an age of elite capture, militarisation, and political disenchantment, that progressive movements led Africa’s path to liberation. The Pan-Africanism of the 20th Century, whether in Accra, Johannesburg, the Caribbean, Algiers, or Atlanta, was rooted in solidarity, social justice, and collective dignity. Its leaders were young, often materially poor, but morally resolute.

They met in Manchester in 1945, in Accra in 1958, and again in Addis Abeba in 1963, to chart a course out of colonialism and toward unity. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was born of their vision to overcome fragmentation and assert Africa’s agency on the world stage.

That generation did not inherit wealth or power. What they had was purpose, and a belief in the ability of ordinary people to shape their own futures. Pan-Africanism was never only about flags and borders. It was about the emancipation of the African spirit, wherever it resided in Soweto, in Harlem, in Port-au-Prince.

But somewhere along the way, the liberators became rulers. And many were seduced by the very tools of domination they had once resisted: the gun, the palace, and the patron. The Cold War turned Africa into a chessboard. Corruption crept into the post-colonial state. Military coups became routine. The dream of collective freedom was replaced with the reality of elite power.

At the turn of the millennium, there was a glimmer of hope.

The African Renaissance, championed by figures such as Thabo Mbeki, Meles Zenawi, and Salim Ahmed Salim, sought to restore Africa’s voice. The African Union (AU) replaced the OAU. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) laid out a vision of accountable governance, continental integration, and economic transformation. But that resurgence was short-lived.

Over the last decade, Africa has once again fallen under the grip of militarised regimes, transactional politics, and predatory elites. Right-wing populism has taken root, often clothed in tribal garb or prosperity gospel preachings. Evangelical movements, aligned with global conservative currents, have promoted a doctrine of personal wealth accumulation, privatised salvation, and disdain for the collective.

African governments may be richer than ever in natural resources, but the people are poorer, angrier, and more excluded. Governance has collapsed in too many states. Regional institutions have grown weak. And Africa’s global agency has withered under the weight of debt, foreign military bases, and extractive economic deals with Middle Eastern autocracies and unaccountable corporations.

The African people have not given up, but they have been betrayed by those who promised democracy and delivered kleptocracy.

It is against this backdrop that Zohran Mamdani’s campaign offers a lifeline of political hope. His message was straightforward. The wealthiest city in the world should be affordable to the people who live and work in it. The role of government, he argued, is not to enrich landlords or appease developers, but to ensure housing, healthcare, education, and safety for all.

Instead of relying on big donors, Mamdani turned to the people. He walked the neighbourhoods. He listened to mothers, immigrants, street vendors, and students. He built coalitions grounded in trust and shared struggle. And the people responded.

New York, long known for its transactional and donor-driven politics, chose a candidate whose only real currency was his integrity. His agenda was not imposed from above. It was built from below.

This is the politics Africa should reclaim. Progressive politics is not a Western import. It is Africa’s inheritance. It animated our independence struggles. It inspired our constitutions. It defined the first generation of post-colonial African states. Today, that legacy lies dormant, but not dead.

To resurrect it, African progressives should return to first principles. They should organise, listen to their people, and not preach to them. They should run for office not only to win power but to restore purpose. They should champion ideas that unify across ethnicity and class, ideas rooted in justice, dignity, and the public good. Above all, they should believe again in the collective because no African country will thrive in isolation.

Fragmentation is our enemy. Unity is our only viable path to global relevance, regional strength, and internal renewal.

Zohran Mamdani’s democratic party primary win reminds us that people-powered politics is not a fantasy. It is a strategy. And it works. His campaign was not about nostalgia. It was about possibility. It proved that politics of hope, dignity, and equity can still defeat politics of fear, greed, and division.

In Africa, we have the youth. We have the ideas. We have the history. What we need is the courage to organise around it again. Let Zohran Mamdani’s primary victory be a wake-up call to Africa’s young leaders, thinkers, and activists. Let it be a rallying cry for a new Pan-African progressive agenda, one that reclaims our future from the grasp of the corrupt, the powerful, and the indifferent.

We once won our freedom by believing in ourselves. We must now win our future by doing the same.

Climate-Driven Hunger Fuels the Next Migration Crisis

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In the first half of this year, nearly 20,000 people crossed the English Channel to the United Kingdom (UK) in small boats, a 48pc increase from the same period last year. In Greece, arrivals from Libya have surged by 173pc since the beginning of 2024.

Seeking to curb migration, Western leaders are bolstering border enforcement and striking deals with transit countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leven has called for stronger border controls across the continent, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to “smash the gangs” facilitating illegal crossings.

While the number of international migrants has nearly doubled since 1990, today’s migration pressures are only a glimpse of what lies ahead, as climate change threatens to accelerate displacement sharply. Leaders alarmed by current trends should recognise that these are merely early tremors. Reactive, short-term restrictions will be wholly inadequate to stem the rising tide of people displaced by climate-driven conflicts and disasters.

Instead, governments should confront the root causes of migration. Chief among them is food insecurity, which is on the rise globally as climate change severely disrupts agricultural production. Nowhere is this more acute than in Africa, which has experienced its warmest decade on record. In 2023, Kenya suffered its worst drought in 40 years. The following year, Southern Africa faced its most severe drought in at least a century, reducing maize harvests in Zambia and Zimbabwe by more than half.

Meanwhile, devastating floods in South Sudan wiped out more than 30 million farm animals in 2024.

These disruptions are harbingers of a more volatile future marked by increasingly frequent and severe climate shocks. If current trends persist, Africa’s crop yields could fall by 18pc by 2050, while the continent’s population is projected to double by 2070. Elsewhere, too, agricultural productivity is faltering when it should rise sharply to meet growing demand.

The ripple effects of climate change will not stop at national borders. Climate-driven food insecurity is already one of the main forces driving record-high migration from rural areas to urban centres. As harvests fail and extreme weather destroys livelihoods, more people will be forced to leave their homes in search of safety, stability, and opportunity. Growing competition over dwindling resources is bound to trigger political instability and violent conflict, further fueling migration pressures.

With collapsing food systems already straining governments and testing the resilience of international cooperation, investing in climate-resilient agriculture is the most effective way to ensure global stability. For Western leaders, that means taking concrete steps to expand climate-resilient agriculture abroad, from deploying early warning systems and scaling up drought-resistant crops to promoting agroecological practices that protect against extreme weather events.

But making these solutions widely accessible will require dismantling the financial and technical barriers that leave farmers without the tools, knowledge, and capital they need to adapt.

To this end, policymakers and international financial institutions should focus on interventions that can be rapidly scaled. For example, sharing satellite and meteorological data would strengthen early warning systems, a vital resource that enables farmers and governments to take timely and preventive action to protect harvests.

Yet, these systems remain out of reach for roughly 60pc of Africa’s population. To close this gap, the international community should support regional training hubs and model farms that demonstrate best practices in agroecology. Equipping farmers with such expertise will enhance local resilience and help de-risk private investment in innovative agricultural technologies, especially when combined with blended finance tools and public guarantees.

At the same time, Western governments and multilateral organisations should reverse the decade-long decline in public funding for agricultural research and development, which has weakened the global innovation pipeline when climate risks intensify. As the Tony Blair Institute’s latest paper notes, although research into climate-resilient crops is advancing in high-income countries, it often fails to reach farmers in emerging economies, where commercial incentives are limited.

One promising solution is advance market commitments, a mechanism that enables governments and international institutions like the World Bank to create a market for specific products by pledging to purchase or subsidise them once they are developed. Applying this model to climate-resilient crops could help unlock the necessary investment to scale them, ultimately benefiting farmers in Africa and beyond.

With population growth driving up demand for agricultural land, today’s food systems cannot meet tomorrow’s needs without bold innovation and political will. To keep pace, regulatory frameworks should become more agile, enabling faster approval and adoption of next-generation technologies, such as precision agriculture, gene-edited crops, and alternative animal feeds. As global demand for solutions rises, countries that act early will be best positioned to capture the resulting economic gains.

Strengthening agricultural resilience is not only a development issue; in an age of escalating climate-related disasters, it is a geopolitical imperative. Fortifying borders in the face of growing migration and asylum claims remains a costly and ineffective stand-in for tackling the deeper drivers of displacement, instability, and food insecurity. Without a fundamentally different approach, today’s migration pressures will spiral into a crisis that no government can contain.

The Scramble for Critical Minerals

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The world’s superpowers have developed a seemingly insatiable appetite for the critical minerals that are essential to the ongoing energy and digital transitions, including rare-earth metals (for semiconductors), cobalt (for batteries), and uranium (for nuclear reactors). The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that demand for these minerals will more than quadruple by 2040 for use in clean-energy technologies alone.

But, in their race to control these vital resources, China, Europe, and the United States (US) risk causing serious harm to the countries that possess them.

China is leading the pack, having gained ownership or control over an estimated 60pc to 80pc of the critical minerals that are needed for industry (such as for magnets) and the green transition. This control extends across the supply chain. China is heavily invested in mining across Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America, and has been building up its processing capabilities.

For Western powers, China’s quasi-monopoly over critical minerals appears to be an economic and national security threat. This fear is not unfounded. In December 2024, China restricted exports of critical minerals to the US in retaliation for US restrictions on exports of advanced microchips to China.

Since then, US President Donald Trump has forced Ukraine to relinquish a large share of its critical minerals to the US in what he presents as repayment for American support in its fight against Russia. Trump also wants the US to assert sovereignty over mineral-rich Greenland, to the dismay of Denmark. And he has suggested that Canada, with all its natural resources, become America’s 51st state. The European Union (EU), for its part, has sought its mining contracts, such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), touted as the “Saudi Arabia of critical minerals.”

From the Scramble for Africa in the 19th Century to Western attempts to claim Middle Eastern oil in the 20th, such resource grabs are hardly new. They reflect a fundamental asymmetry. Less industrialised developing economies tend to consume fewer resources than they produce, whereas the opposite is true for developed economies – and, nowadays, China.

In principle, this asymmetry creates ideal conditions for mutually beneficial agreements. Industrialised economies get the resources they desire, and non-industrialised economies get a windfall, which they can use to bolster their own development. But, in reality, vast natural-resource endowments have proven to be more of a curse than a blessing, with resource-rich countries often developing more slowly than their resource-poor counterparts.

A key reason for this is that developed economies possess more economic clout, advanced technology, and military might, all of which they utilise to acquire the resources they seek. For example, European imperial powers utilised steam-engine technology to facilitate their exploration and exploitation of Africa for resources such as copper, tin, rubber, timber, diamonds, and gold in the 19th Century. This, together with more advanced weaponry and other technologies, meant that, far from offering local communities fair compensation for their valuable resources, European powers could subjugate those communities and use their labour to extract and transport what they wanted.

However, even countries that export their resources for a profit have often struggled to make progress on development, not only because of imbalanced deals with more powerful resource importers, but also because their governments have frequently mismanaged the associated bonanzas. It does not help that resource-rich countries and regions often grapple with internal and external conflicts.

Consider the mineral-rich provinces of the DRC, such as Katanga and North Kivu, which have long suffered from violence and lawlessness, fueled by neighbours such as Rwanda and Uganda. Today, the advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels is fueling bloodshed in eastern Congo, and creating an opportunity for outside powers to gain access to critical minerals. The DRC-Rwanda peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration promises precisely such access to the US, in exchange for security guarantees.

But, the resource curse is not inescapable, especially for countries with strong outward-facing institutions to manage the economy’s external relations, including its resource sector’s ability to attract investment and generate revenues for the state, and inward-facing institutions to govern how those revenues are used. If a country is to translate its resource endowments into economic development and improvements in human well-being, both have a critical role to play.

Outward-facing institutions should negotiate fair and transparent mining contracts with multinational corporations and strengthen local governments’ ability to do the same. Such contracts should include local-content requirements, which keep more high-value-added processing activities at home, increase local employment, and strengthen the capacity of local suppliers and contractors. Since acquiring a 15pc stake in De Beers, Botswana has sought to ensure that diamond cutting – not simply mining – occurs domestically, which requires inward-facing institutions to deliver adequate investment in these capabilities.

Inward-facing institutions should also manage risks raised by resource extraction, from health and environmental damage (deforestation, biodiversity loss, pollution) to labour-rights violations (including child labour). Unfortunately, as it stands, many mineral-rich countries are falling far short, leading some to advocate boycotts of critical minerals coming from conflict zones or countries using forced labour. While such boycotts are unlikely to sway these governments, they could convince multinationals and foreign governments to demand better enforcement of environmental and social standards from countries with which they do business.

Ultimately, however, it is up to mineral-rich countries to defend their interests and make the most of their endowments. This starts with efforts to strengthen institutions.

A Year After Currency Float, the Central Bank Takes the Helm

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This week marks the first anniversary of a daring departure from nearly five decades of tightly managed monetary policy. Since the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) opted to liberalise the foreign exchange regime in August 2024, the Birr (Brewed Buck) has lost 147.5pc of its value against the Green Buck.

Despite the magnitude of the shift, the market rarely surprises, though.

For months since the Birr was floated this time last year, the daily deck of cash quotes followed a neat script. The state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) is at the low end, OromiaBank is at the high end, and everyone else falls in between.

That routine cracked last week.

From Monday,July21, through Saturday,July26, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) left the sidelines and became the market’s most aggressive dealer. On July26, it posted a buying rate of 138.61Br to the dollar and a selling rate of 138.72 Br. The waferthin 0.08pc spread is a level seldom seen even among commercial banks, let alone a regulator whose normal task is to calm trading, not outbid it.

Those quotes every day above the week’s averages of 135.18Br on the buy side and 137.89 Br on the sell. However, the averages disguised the shakeup inside treasuries.

OromiaBank, long the “highbid beacon,” paid 137.84Br on Saturday, up a modest 0.25Br for the week but now 0.21Br short of the Central Bank. Dealers who treated Oromia Bank as the ceiling suddenly had to redraw their charts.

The floor moved too after the CBE, which had parked near 131.48Br for months, lifted its buy rate to 134.44 Br, a 2.96Br jump. Even so, it was edged out for the cheapest bidder by BerhanBank’s 132.46Br.

For a lender that usually hugs the median, Berhan’s dip was striking. Market watchers saw thin foreigncurrency reserves; others suspect a deliberate bet that depreciation will slow.

On July26, the Central Bank also published a weightedaverage rate of 138.6Br, reinforcing its message. While the bank offered no statement, market watchers read the move as an attempt to raise the clearing level for everyone else.

Most lenders crept past the psychological 135Br mark by midweek. Two names, Dashen Bank and Cooperative Bank of Oromia (Coop Bank), stayed a few cents under, a posturing market analysts attribute to tight risk caps and a preference to meet corporate demand with letters of credit rather than cash.

Three actors thus shaped the narrative. The Central Bank’s razorthin spread, down from 0.68pc on July21, challenged orthodox centralbank behaviour. CBE’s upward surge, still below the mean, revealed pressure to appear competitive as private rivals chased dollars. Berhan Bank’s slide below 133 Br, well outside the week’s interquartile range, invited talk of hoarding hard currency ahead of leaner days.

Behind the tactics lies a broader macro story. Since January, the official rate has weakened by about 10pc, while the gap with the street price, once close to 100pc, now sits in the low30s. AddisAbeba’s program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urges a narrower gap between official and parallel rates. By posting the top bid, Governor Mamo Mehiretu and his policy wizards may be testing a new playbook that blends managed float with a visible hand.

The move also raised practical worries. Commercial banks rely on predictable centralbank conduct to hedge positions; a regulator that competes on price could blur the line between policy and profit. Market watchers wonder how long the Central Bank can maintain its spread at eight-hundredths of a percent without the rationing supply or reversing course.

Liquidity offers clues. July is a heavy import month, with fuel, wheat, and machinery clearing ports. The squeeze could explain why even CBE, armed with a vast branch network, lifted its rate.

Nonetheless, the market is not oneway. Summer holidays swell diaspora remittances, giving some private banks room to resist higher quotes.

Whether last week marks a lasting turn or a summer ripple is unclear. If reserves recover or import demand eases, the Central Bank may retreat and let commercial banks reset the range. If not, the market may be inching toward a looser, though still managed, float.

For now, the BrewedBuck no longer sails between the familiar buoys of CBE and OromiaBank. The helm appears in the regulator’s hands, and the course ahead looks anything but routine.

Proven Loyalty, Trusted Brand: The Temer Experience

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Introduction

Buying a home in Addis Ababa is one of life’s biggest milestones. It’s a decision built on hope, hard work, and above all, trust. At Temer Properties, we understand this deeply. Our mission isn’t just about property; it’s about creating a real estate journey rooted in loyalty, openness, and a bond that lasts long after we hand over the keys. Whether you’re a first-time buyer, an investor from abroad, or expanding your portfolio, our clients choose us for one simple reason: we keep our word.

A Legacy of Quality and Reliability

In the competitive landscape of real estate in Ethiopia, trust isn’t optional; it’s essential. Since our founding in 2010 we’ve consistently followed through on our promises, developing modern, family-focused homes in Addis Ababa’s most connected neighborhoods.

With 10+ completed developments and over 350+ families in their Temer homes, our footprint across the city tells our story. Standout projects include:

At every stage, our commitment remains the same: build to high standards, finish on schedule, and deliver what we promise.

The Temer Properties Experience

Transparency You Can Count On

From the first handshake to the final finish, we believe in open and honest communication. Crucially, our payment plan is tied to progress you can see. you only pay an installment after a construction milestone is verifiably complete. With Temer, there are no hidden fees and no last-minute surprises because we see you as a partner in the process, keeping you informed and involved through:

  • Real-time drone footage showing a bird’s-eye view of your future home.
  • On-site progress videos that bring the construction site to you.
  • Clear, consistent updates on timelines and milestones.

We don’t just build, we keep you informed and involved from start to finish.

A Digital Bridge for Remote Investors

Investing in property from abroad shouldn’t feel like a risk. We bridge the distance with technology and a personal touch, ensuring our diaspora clients feel connected and confident with interactive 3D tours, live Q&A sessions, and consistent video updates, our diaspora clients stay close to their investments no matter where they are.

A Community-Driven Culture of Trust

What makes clients return and refer to others? Simple:

  • We meet deadlines and honor our agreements
  • We maintain personal relationships with buyers
  • Our community of 350+ homeowners is a testament to the trust we’ve built

We build where our roots are: Sarbet, Ayat, Piassa, Haile Garment, Sumale Tera, and more

Ongoing Projects: Swift Progress, Same Commitment

Our Sarbet-Seken development showcases our speed and precision: with 13 floors completed in less than six months. That’s not just speed, it’s efficient, safe, and well-managed. With drone videos and photo logs, every client sees real progress in real time.

Other Active Developments

  • Achantan (Ayat): the structure has reached the 5th floor, with the B+G+10+T framework steadily rising
  • Haile Garment: 2B+G+20 mixed use building progressing toward the 20th floor, ahead of schedule
  • Upcoming: Lycee 003 Piassa, Piassa 2B+G+5 commercial building

Each site is handled with the same level of planning and performance, keeping our growth steady and future-ready.

Bridging the Distance with Technology

We integrate technology not for show, but for clarity and confidence:

Especially for international clients, this transparency builds trust, not just convenience.

Loyalty in Action: Brand and Community in Harmony

Temer Properties invests in people, not just properties. Our community outreach reflects our values:

Through in-house construction, we ensure quality and consistency, while our social impact efforts deepen client loyalty and strengthen community ties.

What This Means for You as a Buyer or Investor

When you choose Temer, you choose:

  • Proven delivery: 350+ homes completed, 10+ projects on record
  • Transparent progress tracking: via drone, video, and regular site reports
  • A future-focused pipeline: with new projects continually launching
  • A value-driven brand: that gives back and grows with its community

You’re not just buying property, you’re joining a trusted network built on performance and people.

Conclusion

In a market full of promises, we deliver homes. We build with integrity, communicate with honesty, and treat every client like a neighbor. When you are ready to build your future in Ethiopia, you can count on Temer to hand you the keys with a foundation of trust already built-in.

Contact Us | View Live Projects | Learn More About Us

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LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/temer-realestate/

Twitter X – https://x.com/TemerProperties

Telegram- https://t.me/temer_properties

Temer Properties
Create | Construct | Deliver

#Temerproperties #Temerrealestate

 

 

Revenue Drive Intensifies Following 900 Billion Br Milestone

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The Minister of Revenue announced plans to collect 1.28 trillion Br in the upcoming fiscal year. This announcement was made during a discussion forum organised by the Ministry of Revenue (MoR) and the Customs Commission, which included senior leaders, employees, and relevant stakeholders. The event, themed “We will achieve our mission through coordinated leadership and active participation of employees,” served as the platform for this important announcement.

According to the ministry, they successfully achieved 100pc of their target for the current fiscal year, collecting 900 billion Br. “We will work with determination to meet the growing needs of our people by enhancing our revenue collection capacity,” stated Aynalem Nigussie, the Minister of Revenue.

While the Minister has completed the assigned responsibilities, there is an expectation for even greater effort, as 70 pc of the upcoming fiscal year budget is expected to come from domestic revenues.

Ministry officials are facing ongoing challenges from illicit trade, which has intensified significantly over the past year. Customs officials reported seizing contraband valued at 15 billion Br, marking a 32pc increase compared to the previous year. Among the illicit items, khat, a popular stimulant crop and a major source of export revenue, remains a primary concern. Smugglers have diverted substantial volumes from legal export channels, negatively impacting legitimate traders and reducing tax revenue.

Parliament Endorses Electoral Law Change Tying Party Support to Member Contributions

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Federal legislators have ratified a contentious amendment to the Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties’ Registration, and Elections Code of Conduct Proclamation, revising the criteria political parties must meet to access government funding.

The revised proclamation requires political parties to secure at least 20pc of their income from membership contributions in order to qualify for government grants. The clause passed with a majority vote in parliament, with two votes against and four abstentions, following a heated debate over its implications.

Among members of parliament, concerns were raised that the new condition would disproportionately benefit the ruling party, making it harder for opposition groups to meet eligibility requirements. Despite pushback, the amendment was adopted with limited resistance.

The original 2019 proclamation tied state support to a broader set of indicators, including electoral performance at both federal and state levels, financial backing from members and supporters, and the number of female candidates a party fielded. Other considerations included the proportion of women in leadership roles and the inclusion of candidates with disabilities.

The latest revision maintains these criteria but adds a fixed threshold parties must now demonstrate that 20pc of their revenue originates directly from members, reinforcing the link between internal grassroots engagement and public funding eligibility.

“An exceptional position.”

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Tsegab Kebebew, Ethiopia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, made a sharp rebuke of Eritrea during remarks at the UN Human Rights Council two weeks ago, accusing the Red Sea country of posing a grave threat to Ethiopia’s national security. He said an “extraordinary situation,” which compelled his country to adopt a firmer posture toward its northern neighbour. He charged Eritrea with committing gross human rights violations in areas it continues to occupy.

Upstart Banks Pay Up for Dollars as Veterans Watch, CBE Sits Tight

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It is unusual to see the BrewedBuck gain even a fraction of ground against the GreenBuck. Yet, last week, the Birr’s steady slide briefly paused. On Saturday, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) posted slightly lower official buying quotes than the previous week, while the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) left its posted rate unchanged at 131.5 Br to the dollar, a level it has maintained for two months.

The decision not to move in step with the market has set off debate within banking circles over whether CBE is defending its own thin foreign reserve position or is being used, implicitly or otherwise, by policymakers as a stabilising anchor. Many in the industry suspect the latter.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week sharpened that suspicion, arguing that CBE’s near 50pc share of the banking system “creates additional distortions.” Adds the Fund’s report: “Its historical role as a policy bank with negative foreign currency positions reduces incentives for competitive foreign exchange mobilisation.”

On July 17, the Central Bank’s dealer screens began showing zero spread quotes, an oddity in a market that usually observes a small gap between buy and sell prices. Traders took it as a signal of an internal policy switch. If that is the case, it failed to halt a gentle depreciation. Over the trading week, the Birr lost about 0.15pc, a controlled nudge rather than a rout. The average buying rate across 26 commercial banks edged up from roughly 134.90 Br to 135.10 Br, while the average selling rate moved from about 137.50 Br to 137.70 Br.

Competition for scarce dollars remains fierce.

OromiaBank topped the bidding league tables, lifting its buying rate to 137.59 Br on July 19 from 137.30 Br five days earlier. It also posted the highest selling quote, at 140.34 Br, a premium its traders are willing to pay to lock in hard currency. Fourth-generation lenders leaned in as well. Amhara Bank bought at 135.68 Br, Gadaa at 135.08, Hijra at 135.01, and ZamZam at 135.19, each crossing the 135 Br line that longer-established private banks, such as Awash, Abyssinia, Dashen, Wegagen, and Zemen, still avoid.

The restraint of these more established banks has been unveiled through tighter balance sheet limits or a more conservative view of where the currency is heading.

Price dispersion is widening. Oromia Bank’s 140.34Br selling quote was almost six Birr above the lowest in the market, CBE’s 134.13 Br, exposing the gulf in risk appetite and funding costs between financial institutions. The NBE’s own window, meanwhile, saw its spread collapse from 0.10pc on July 14 to zero three days later, a quirk that market analysts read as a deliberate signal from policymakers.

A year has passed since Governor Mamo Mihretu abandoned the fixed peg and ushered in a managed float meant to fuse the fragmented foreign exchange market into a single and transparent system. In practice, stability remains elusive. The premium on the parallel market, which the authorities briefly crushed with tough enforcement in late 2023, rewidened to roughly 17pc by May this year. Back in November 2023, that gap had blown out to more than 100pc, betraying a severe drain on reserves and evaporating investor confidence.

The late July 2024 shift briefly narrowed the chasm; by September, the parallel rate was nearly level with the official quote, but the respite proved short-lived. By April of this year, the spread had returned, even though reserves, boosted by donor inflows and a pickup in exports, had climbed to around four billion dollars, enough to meet about two months of imports.

The IMF pins the recurring stress on three structural flaws.

While broad rationing has been scrapped, transactions remain costly and opaque. Importers should still surrender a 2.5pc commission to the Central Bank and navigate cumbersome paperwork, nudging many toward the street market. Draconian capital controls lock up an estimated 70pc to 80pc of cross-border financial flows, in sharp contrast to Egypt and Nigeria, two countries that have edged toward freer regimes. Confidence in the Brewed Buck is eroded by double-digit inflation and artificially low deposit rates, which deter savers from holding local assets.

“The absence of hedging tools makes importers wary of currency fluctuations, causing them to revert to unofficial markets,” the IMF said.

Its prescription is sweeping. Scrap the remaining current account restrictions, allow for favourable real interest rates, phase in capital-account liberalisation, and upgrade payment infrastructure. Letting foreign banks in, the IMF argues, would dilute incumbents’ dominance and deepen the market.

Whether policymakers can deliver reforms fast enough is an open question. Governor Mamo and his team should weigh economic logic against political and security risks that fuel capital flight. He also needs to decide whether it will restart the bi-monthly foreign-exchange auctions he paused this month or continue to let banks set their own rates.

According to the IMF, over the longer run, the credibility of the managed float will depend on the Central Bank’s willingness to swallow short-term pain — higher interest rates, a leaner CBE balance sheet and greater transparency — in exchange for a more resilient currency market.

BEAST LOGISTICS

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A stoic horse sporting a bright and colorful bridle patiently endures the morning shift around Megenagna, as bundles of alloy steel are loaded onto its mud-worn cart. Somewhere between outdated infrastructure and economic hustle, this four-legged freight solution more affordable in comparison to vehicles, continues to outperform expectations despite better technologically advanced times.