Commission to Aid 10,000 SMEs

Mar 6 , 2021


The Jobs Creation Commission has set up a rescue fund to aid 10,000 selected small and medium enterprises across the country. The 4.5-million-dollar fund came from the United Nations Development Programme to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission conducted a need assessment on small and medium enterprises. The assessment studied the degree of impact the pandemic could have on small and medium enterprises and suggested rescue funds as a possible solution. The Commission has previously awarded rescue grants to SMEs in Addis Abeba with the support of the Mastercard Foundation. This round of support will be extended to SMEs located in all regional states and city administrations.


Radar

Electricity Bills Get the VAT Jolt

The new Value Added Tax (VAT) has begun implementation on electricity consumption and various service fees affecting customers who use more than 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, the tax will be applied to the excess amount of electricity consumption above 200 kilowatt hours. The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) began implementing the VAT on bills starting from November though both prepaid and postpaid customers will have to pay V...


Radar

Gadaa Bank Expands Reach, Faces Lending Constraints

Gadaa Bank closed its first full fiscal year of operations with a net profit of 90.2 million Br. The 18-month-old Bank held its annual general assembly at Millenium Hall on Africa Avenue last week where the board announced that during the year, the Bank opened 15 branches and now has 85 operational branches. “Due to recently enacted policy measures on credit by NBE and unmet resource mobilization during the fiscal year, the Bank was unable to make loan disbursements,” stated Wolde...


Radar

Oromia Bank's Branch Expansion Weighs on Profits

Oromia Bank reported a 47pc decline in net profit to take in 840.9 million Br for the past fiscal year. Interest income grew by 21pc to reach 7.19 billion Br while personnel expense grew by 36pc to hit 3.16 billion Br. The opening of 72 new branches, bringing the total to 575, led to a four percent growth of deposits to 56.4 billion Br. The profits are “unsatisfactory against our ambitious moves,” said Assefa Seme (PhD), board chairperson. “The deviation is primarily attributed to our aggr...