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

Aug 3 , 2024

Will the Belated Baptism Float or Flounder the 'Brewed Buck'?

Much like the unpredictable brew of a strong coffee from the Ethiopian highlands, the Brewed Buck has experienced unprecedented fluctuations in over half a century. On Wednesday of last week, the rate...

Jul 27 , 2024

Birr's Leap of Faith Betting on a Dirham Deal

National Bank Governor Mamo Mehiretu recently etched his name in the annals of Ethiopia's central banking by signing a memorandum of understanding with Khaled Mohammed Balama, governor of the United A...

Jul 20 , 2024

Short Circuited Policy Roulette Shock Businesses, Stall Progress

In a volatile economic environment, sudden policy reversals leave businesses reeling and progress impeded. Businesses and investors alike struggle with an environment where predictability is a luxury...

Jul 13 , 2024

Political Uncertainty, Economic Volatility Manufacturers Battle on Two Fronts

Policymakers are walking a tightrope, struggling to generate growth and create millions of jobs while tackling budget deficits, trade imbalances, debt servicing, and runaway inflation. These are probl...

Jul 7 , 2024

Bulging Budget Obscures Deepening Fiscal Battle for Value

The federal budget has crossed a symbolic threshold, approaching the one trillion Birr mark at 971.2 billion Br, equivalent to 16.7 billion dollars at last week's official exchange rate. The exponenti...

Jun 29 , 2024

Autonomy in Action: Will Mamo Mihretu Redefine the Central Bank?

In a spirited bid for autonomy, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), under its youngest Governor yet, Mamo Mihretu, aspires to redefine its relationship with the government, the public, international...

Jun 22 , 2024

From Waning Inflation to Fiscal Strain, Budget Bill Walks Between Hope, Affliction

Ethiopia's economic reality is a study in contrasts. Positive signs, such as declining inflation rates for food and non-food items, could imply that monetary policy measures might have restrained pric...

Jun 15 , 2024

Will Ambitious Liberalisation Drown in a Sea of Bureaucratic Ineptitude, Corruption?

The Central Bank has tabled a draft banking proclamation to commercial bank executives, signalling the onset of reform its Governor, Mamo Mehiretu, has been promising since his appointment last year....

Jun 8 , 2024

Sky-High Interest Rates, Fiscal Folly Uncover Deep Economic Distress

Ethiopia's businesses face an increasingly arduous task in securing loans, as capital emerges as one of the priciest commodities in the market. Borrowing costs are exorbitant, with commercial loan int...

Jun 1 , 2024

Beneath the Surface Fundamentals Unmask a Facade of Progress Amid Despair

Ethiopia appears to be mired in a vicious economic cycle - rather a negative dynamic - characterised by low productivity, high unemployment, cantering inflation and declining exports, exacerbated by r...

May 25 , 2024

Celebrating Inflation "Triumphs" While the Economy Gasps for Air

For a long time, the debate among Ethiopia's policymakers and those in the academia centred on the effectiveness of monetary policy measures in impacting the real economy, particularly inflation. In a...

May 18 , 2024

Sleek Offices, Lavish Roads Makeover in Shaky Economy During Fiscal Frugality

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) took a handful of his cabinet members last week to the newly illuminated offices of Chaltu Sani, the minister of Urban & Infrastructure Development, on Ras Abebe Ar...

May 11 , 2024

From Mines to Mortgages, PPPs Can Be Antidotes of Progress, Not Touch-and-Go Pitfall

The ruling Prosperity Party - the Prosperitians - has its leaders turned to the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) model, a strategic tool for economic development. The focus of these partnerships has...

May 2 , 2024

Tax Authorities' Sisyphean Saga of Shrinking Revenue, Gov't Soaring Ambitions

For successive generations of Ethiopia's tax authorities, the chore of tax collection is proving to be a Sisyphean task. Despite efforts to rake in more revenue, the country's tax-to-GDP ratio has shr...

Apr 27 , 2024

Prosperity Party Tries Economic Tightrope Walking Without a Net

The Prosperity Party (PP) - Prosperitians - is charting a course through treacherous waters. The party, which emerged from a fragmented political order, touts a liberal economic agenda in contrast to...

Apr 20 , 2024

Governor Mamo Tests Transparency. Will It Pass a Test of Time?

In a departure from its traditionally opaque practices, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), under the stewardship of Governor Mamo Mehiretu, has unveiled a new report mapping the financial sector's s...


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