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DigiTruck to Hit the Roads Reaching Nine Cities

Dec 4 , 2022

A Digitruck under iCog plans to travel to nine cities and towns, such as Adama, Hawassa and Harer, delivering coding and robotics training and raising awareness among the youth. Huawei Technologies is the provider of the Digi truck and all the devices in it. A refurbished digital container trailer truck equipped with electronic devices comes to life, inaugurated on November 16. DigiTruck Ethiopia is the outcome of a partnership between iCog-Anyone Can Code Ethiopia, operating for the last six years, the Ministry of Education and Huawei Technologies Ethiopia. "I've been planning this project for over 12 years," Bethelhem Dessie, the founder of iCog, told Fortune. The 12m mobile ICT lab dubbed "DigiTruck Ethiopia" is equipped with laptops, robotic devices, microelectronics and 3D printers powered by solar and electrical means. Bethlehem said that the truck is equipped with electronic devices to facilitate learning. She hopes to see the project nurtures students interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, a.k.a STEAM. It aims to bridge the digital gap in schools teaching 3,500 students nationwide, where 70pc comes from public schools and through online applications.

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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...

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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...

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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...

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