Farmers Foresee Digital Payment Transactions

Dec 24 , 2022


Farmers are set to buy agricultural inputs such as fertilisers through the digital payment systems of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). The Bank has partnered with the Oromia Cooperatives Agency to enable the payment system, with officials signing an agreement last week. According to the officials, the system allows farmers to use CBE mobile banking and CBE Birr to buy inputs from the Agency and Unions in their respective areas after depositing 30,000 Br, allowing transactions without bank accounts or visits to CBE branches. The Bank's President, Abe Sano, said the system would help expedite the transactions in the agricultural sector, pledging to digitise the scheme fully next year. CBE has been providing loans to farmers in the region to purchase agricultural inputs for nearly three decades, with the total value of loans distributed now reaching 36 billion Br.


Radar

Ethiopia Revives WTO Ambitions After Five-Year Stall

Ethiopia's trade delegation led by Kassahun Gofe (PhD), a chief negotiator in the WTO accession talks, is reviving a long-stalled effort to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), signalling renewed ambition following a five-year hiatus. He travelled last week to Geneva, Switzerland, where the WTO is headquartered, to conclude negotiations for membership by March next year. If successful, Ethiopia's accession to the world's trade body will be timed, with the 14th ministerial conference set t...


Radar

First Digital Insurance, Loan Services Launched

A new digital insurance and loan service platform christened 'Agar' - translated as a partner - has debuted in the market, marking a notable entry into the financial sector. The initiative, a collaboration among Global Bank Ethiopia, Lucy Insurance, and Kacha Digital Financial Services, pledged to transform access to insurance and credit for various user groups, including insurance policy buyers, taxi drivers, and salaried employees. For Abraham Tilahun, CEO of Kacha Digital Financial Service...


Radar

City Forms Task Force to Regulate Informal Street Vendors

A new task force under the city administration will enforce new regulations designed to restore order on the streets of Addis Abeba and address concerns over cleanliness and public safety. The task force has been established to enforce regulations imposed on informal street vendors. The city's Trade Bureau launched the initiative to address the increasing informal trading, which city officials say has been "disruptive to the established trade system." The task force is headed by Deputy Mayor...