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

Fortune Logo



Commentary

  1. Home
  2. Commentary

How Should Africa Respond to Foreign-Aid Cuts?

Apr 19 , 2025      |      By Ifeanyi M Nsofor      |      2117 Views

A global storm is gathering, and Africa is directly in its path. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has fro...

Can a Global Trade War Be Avoided?

Apr 19 , 2025      |      By Daniel Gros      |      1099 Views

On April 2, US President Donald Trump proposed sweeping tariffs on nearly all of America's trading partners, wiping more...

A Trade War Hits the Flower Aisle. Ethiopia Feels the Thorns

President Donald Trump's decision to impose new tariffs has prompted U.S. customs agents to begin collecting duties on goods from dozens of major trading partners, with a baseline rate of 10pc and higher levies on certain products. Among the industries feeling the effects is flor...

Apr 13 , 2025      |      By Mekonnen Solomon      |      2411 Views

Start-Up Fever Threatens to Undermine the Public Sector's Core Mission

Around the world, governments are trying to reinvent themselves in the image of a business. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) crusade in the United States is quite explicit on this point, as is Argentina's chainsaw-wielding President, Javier Milei. But, one a...

Apr 13 , 2025      |      By Mariana Mazzucato and Rainer Kattel      |      1264 Views

Rising Debt Chokes Growth as Poor Countries Pay More, Get Less

Economic development requires financing that is affordable, accessible, and has maturities matched to development outcomes. Yet, for most developing countries, none of the above apply. Instead, an escalating "debt distress" is unfolding across much of the developing world, exacer...

Apr 5 , 2025      |      By Mahmoud Mohieldin and Paolo Gentiloni      |      1966 Views

Philanthropy in an Era of Declining Development Aid

Philanthropy will never replace public aid, but it can be a powerhouse if we use it right. With global development funding under strain, European aid budgets being redirected toward defense and rearmament, and the United States (US) rethinking foreign assistance altogether, the a...

Apr 6 , 2025      |      By William Moore      |      1082 Views

A Trade War Hits the Flower Aisle. Ethiopia Feels the Thorns

President Donald Trump's decision to impose new tariffs has prompted U.S. customs agents to begin collecting duties on goods from dozens of major trading partners, with a baseline rate of 10pc and higher levies on certain products. Among the industries feeling the effects is flor...

Apr 13 , 2025      |      By Mekonnen Solomon      |      2411 Views

Start-Up Fever Threatens to Undermine the Public Sector's Core Mission

Around the world, governments are trying to reinvent themselves in the image of a business. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) crusade in the United States is quite explicit on this point, as is Argentina's chainsaw-wielding President, Javier Milei. But, one a...

Apr 13 , 2025      |      By Mariana Mazzucato and Rainer Kattel      |      1264 Views

Rising Debt Chokes Growth as Poor Countries Pay More, Get Less

Economic development requires financing that is affordable, accessible, and has maturities matched to development outcomes. Yet, for most developing countries, none of the above apply. Instead, an escalating "debt distress" is unfolding across much of the developing world, exacer...

Apr 5 , 2025      |      By Mahmoud Mohieldin and Paolo Gentiloni      |      1966 Views

Philanthropy in an Era of Declining Development Aid

Philanthropy will never replace public aid, but it can be a powerhouse if we use it right. With global development funding under strain, European aid budgets being redirected toward defense and rearmament, and the United States (US) rethinking foreign assistance altogether, the a...

Apr 6 , 2025      |      By William Moore      |      1082 Views

Maise Boom Displaces Ethiopia's Native Grains

Nearly three decades ago, the U.S. National Research Council published a landmark series titled "Lost Crops of Africa", spotlighting the continent's rich agricultural diversity. Its purpose was clear. The series discussed the indigenous African crops that could potentially feed n...

Mar 30 , 2025      |      By Bula S Wayessa      |      2992 Views

Poverty's Last Mile as Digital Finance Redrawing Inclusion Map

At its most basic level, the goal of economic development is to eradicate poverty. By that metric, considerable progress has been made: the number of people living in extreme poverty fell from 1.9 billion in 1990 to an estimated 615 million today, largely owing to supercharged ec...

Mar 30 , 2025      |      By Wolfgang Fengler      |      675 Views

Dismantling USAID Could Boost African Self-Reliance

Back in 2015, then-Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta warned the pan-African Parliament about the dangers of development assistance. He did not want the continent's future left to the good graces of outside interests. He argued that foreign aid, which often comes with terms and c...

Mar 30 , 2025      |      By Hippolyte Fofack      |      827 Views

Ethiopia's Taking a Page from Kenyas Market Playbook Can Pay Off

The launch of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) in January this year marked a landmark event in Ethiopia's financial history. It arrived at a time when Kenya had already established itself as an Eastern African financial powerhouse through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (N...

Mar 23 , 2025      |      By Million Kibret      |      2299 Views

Will the Dollar Continue to Fall?

Although I no longer live and breathe the markets on a daily basis, I have never forgotten some key lessons I learned early on as an economist working in the financial industry: it is much easier to be wrong than right. Consider one of the big, early surprises of 2025. Late la...

Mar 23 , 2025      |      By Jim O’Neill      |      1075 Views

Sorghums Silent Struggle in Battles for Relevance

Long recognised as a cradle of crop biodiversity, Ethiopia has historically ranked sorghum third among its cereals, after teff and maise. Sorghum is not merely another cereal for Ethiopia but is woven deeply into the fabric of its rural livelihoods. However, recent official effor...

Mar 16 , 2025      |      By Amare S Hailessilase      |      2490 Views


Most read

Columns

Commentaries | Jul 12,2025

The Cost of Capital Is a Public-Health Emergency for Africa

Life Matters | Jul 13,2025

Lessons in Bureaucracy

My Opinion | Jul 13,2025

The City That Refuses to Hear Itself

Sunday with Eden | Jul 12,2025

Half a Century of Impact

Agenda | Jul 13,2025

Brewing Trouble as Tella Bars Go Dry

Editorial | Jul 12,2025

Legal, Policy Volatility Turns Promises into Headwinds


         ADVERTISEMENT

Editorial

Legal, Policy Volatility Turns Promises into Headwinds

Jul 12 , 2025

Political leaders and their policy advisors often promise great leaps forward, yet th...

Civil Society Feels the Squeeze as Reform Era Unravels

Jul 5 , 2025

Six years ago, Ethiopia was the darling of international liberal commentators. A year...

Soaring Taxes Fail to Plug Holes as Audit Reveals Enduring Waste

Jun 28 , 2025

Meseret Damtie, the assertive auditor general, has never been shy about naming names...

Expanding Federal Budget Tests Limits of Fiscal Discipline

Jun 21 , 2025

A well-worn adage says, “Budget is not destiny, but it is direction.” Examining t...

Sunday With Eden

Half a Century of Impact

On a cold Saturday afternoon last week, we gathered to honour a couple who have profoundly shaped both my life and my husband's, not just sp...

Rise Without Ruin

At times, the pursuit of opportunity quietly takes on a ruthless tone. Success begins to feel like a zero-sum game, where someone must lose...

Life Matters

Lessons in Bureaucracy

Navigating bureaucracy often feels like moving through a labyrinth, where logic falters and clarity dissolves. The rules change with bafflin...

The Nuances of Baby Carrying

Each morning, just beyond the compound gates, a familiar image greets the day: a mother walking briskly with her baby snug in a front carrie...

Agenda

Brewing Trouble as Tella Bars Go Dry

Jul 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

The sweet-sour scent of "tella" still lingered in the cramped compound off Tunisia St...

When Pepper Burns the Purse

Jul 6 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW and NAHOM AYELE

The late-morning sun cuts through Addis Abeba's usual haze and lands on Haile Garment, an industrious poc...

As School Fees Soar in Addis, Families Choose Between Education, Survival

Jun 29 , 2025 . By RUTH BERHANU

Late June in Addis Abeba brings its first curtain of rain, a grey veil that slows the minibuses and muffl...

Addis Abeba's Messy Taxi Overhaul Leaves Riders Waiting, Veterans Sidelined

Jun 21 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER and AMANUEL BEKELE

Around 5:00pm, a time when most civil servants spill out of office towers and scramble for rides home, Me...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Commentaries

The Cost of Capital Is a Public-Health Emergency for Africa

The annual meeting of the World Health Organisation's member states, May's 78th World...

The BRICS+ Should Not Miss the Africa Opportunity

The 10 current BRICS+ members, more than most countries, can empathise with the econo...

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 me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Fortune news

Revenues Bureau Targets Landlords in Revenue Push

Jul 13 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW

The Addis Abeba City Revenue Bureau has introduced a new directive set to reshape how...

Addis Ababa Goes It Alone with Record Budget

Jul 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Addis Abeba has approved a record 350 billion Br budget for the 2025/26 fiscal year,...

VAT Relief Sprouts in Addis, But Roots of Inequality Run Deep

Jul 13 , 2025 . By RUTH BERHANU

The Addis Abeba Revenue Bureau has scrapped a value-added tax (VAT) on unprocessed ve...

Parliament Draws Dividend Dispute to a Close

Jul 13 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE

Federal lawmakers have finally brought closure to a protracted and contentious tax de...