FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers TRADE AFRICA Election 2026 New TIME REMAINING UNTIL ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL ELECTION 0Days 0Hours 0Minutes 0Seconds

Fortune Logo

Editorials

  1. Home
  2. Editorials

Nov 23 , 2024

During Taxing Times, Tax Hunt Tests the Limits of an Unsteady Economy

The fiscal puzzle deepens as the Council of Ministers approved a supplementary budget of 581 billion Br last week, over half the federal budget ratified only months ago. Not even halfway through the f...

Nov 16 , 2024

Bound by Debt, Government's Costly Love Affair with State Bloat

In the realm of public finance, balance sheets speak louder than rhetoric. In such domain, public enterprises are colossal monuments to misplaced confidence, harbouring debts that tower like unscalabl...

Nov 9 , 2024

Policy Bargain in Franco Valuta a Double-Edged Sword in the Forex Debacle

Ethiopia's foreign exchange debacle resembles a tangled web of contradictions and constraints. The country's trade financing state remains besieged by systemic bottlenecks, escalating costs, and a wid...

Nov 2 , 2024

Addis Abeba Withering as Noise, Air Pollutions Choke the 'New Flower'

Addis Abeba, fondly dubbed a 'New Flower,' is wilting under the weight of unchecked urban growth. While the capital's main thoroughfares gleam with new infrastructure — separate lanes for pedestrian...

Oct 26 , 2024

Mercato Inferno Lays Bare Ethiopia's Vulnerabilities to Disasters

When flames devoured parts of Mercato, residents watched helplessly as decades of toil turned to ashes. The inferno, one of nearly 200 reported in the city this year, consumed more than stalls and mer...

Oct 20 , 2024

Floating the Birr Makes It Struggle to Keep Its Head Above Water

Central Bank authorities have unveiled no less than six new guidelines to fine-tune the foreign exchange market, following their bold decision in late July 2024 to liberalise the exchange regime. Aban...

Oct 12 , 2024

With the Horn Edging to the Brink, Regional Leaders Should Extol Trust

In his inaugural address on October 27, 2024, Taye Atseqesellasie, the fifth president since the 1995 constitution, extolled mutual trust as Ethiopia's most valuable legacy for future generations. Yet...

Oct 5 , 2024

Birr's Unmoored Descent Threatens to Drown an Economy Awash in Debt

Not long ago, the sight of exchange bureaus in Addis Abeba was as rare as a cloudless day in the rainy season. But a recent decision by the Central Bank to grant five non-bank entities permits to trad...

Sep 28 , 2024

Not to Turn the "Land of Origins" into a Land of Uneven Promises

In the early 2010s, Ethiopian authorities found themselves at odds with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Fund cautioned that the country's rapid economic expansion overheated the economy, ig...

Sep 21 , 2024

The Civil Service Gets a Pay Boost, But Inflation Laughs Last

A nurse in Addis Abeba shares a cramped one-room apartment with three colleagues. Her meagre salary barely covers food and transport. Like many employed by the public service sector, whose monthly ave...

Sep 14 , 2024

Drowning in Budget Gap, Universities Chase Autonomy. Can They Afford It?

Successive regimes share a common legacy: a deep-seated commitment to education as a vehicle for economic growth and social mobility. From the reign of Emperor Menelik II to the present day, each admi...

Sep 8 , 2024

The Road Ahead Remains Difficult. So Are Rewards for Getting It Right Profound

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's (PhD) visit to China last week could mark a watershed moment for his country, not only because he led a large delegation to Beijing, but due to the broader context of Afric...

Sep 1 , 2024

Addis Abeba's Gleaming Makeover Shouldn't Leave the Vulnerable Behind

Addis Abeba's skyline is being dramatically altered. Once characterised by unremarkable buildings and dusty roads, Africa's political and diplomatic capital now greets visitors with a spectacle of aff...

Aug 25 , 2024

Addis Abebas Light Rail Dream Turns into a Clunky Nightmare. It Shouldn't.

It may appear distasteful, unappealing and cumbersome to sight. But, the Addis Abeba Light Rail Transit (AA-LRT) stands as a concrete symbol of Ethiopia's ambitious attempt to shake off its image as a...

Aug 18 , 2024

Heavy-Handed Play to Tame Market 'Villains' in Reform's Name Hardly Works

The economy is in turmoil, and describing the situation as merely dire could be an understatement. The federal government's response to the unfolding crisis has been to clamp down on businesses, targe...

Aug 10 , 2024

Audacious Move Taken to Free an Economy Long Anchored in Captivity

The past few weeks have been anything but uneventful on the economic front. Across the board—from wage earners to business leaders and policymakers—there has been a discernible apprehension as eve...


Most read

Columns

Commentaries | Jun 06,2026

The Iran War Is Fueling a Global Debt Shock

Life Matters | Jun 06,2026

We Don't Need Cover Letters We Need Conversations

My Opinion | Jun 06,2026

The Promise, Limits of African Data Sovereignty

Sunday with Eden | Jun 06,2026

A Journey of Survival, Forgiveness, Giving Back

Agenda | Jun 07,2026

THE GOLD RUSH RUNS OUT OF FUEL

Editorial | Jun 06,2026

The Elections Offered Order at the Centre, Silence at the Edges


         ADVERTISEMENT

Read More

The Elections Offered Order at the Centre, Silence at the Edges

For a political veteran as controversial as Getachew Reda, last week's national elections...

Editorial | Jun 6 , 2026

Addis Abeba Pours a New Story in Every Cup, Where Tradition Meets Global Influence

Customers settle into a carefully curated space of dark wood, black accents, muted green f...

Featured | May 31 , 2026 . By HELINA HADGU

THE GOLD RUSH RUNS OUT OF FUEL

Zenebe Girja used to sit close to the centre of the formal gold trade, where sacks of raw...

Agenda | Jun 7 , 2026 . By MASTEWAL ZEMENE

National Census Delay Opens a New Fight Over Who Controls the Facts

The long-delayed census has returned to Parliament not as a counting exercise, but as a fi...

Fortune News | Jun 7 , 2026 . By NAHOM AYELE