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Jan 28 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU

Trailblazer Energy Firm LydetCo Goes Off-Grid

On the capital's outskirts, at about 400 meters from the Ayat roundabout, sits a sparkling white building with the logo LydetCo plastered all over it. A casual glance at the six-storey building reveals little to leave a lasting impression, but a closer look and one notices that no electric power lin...

Jan 21 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO

The Wedding Bells to Ring Loud

As the wedding season is upon the capital, Samson Ashenafi, 31, the firstborn of his family, envisioned a picture-perfect ceremony with his then-fiance, Hawi Getachew. The couple hankered a simple and intimate setting with no more than 100 people, but being from a deeply rooted traditional background where ceremonies are considered shallow if they do not have the whole nine yards, the pressure forced them to exponentiate the guest list more than five folds. They spent over 150,000 Br to rent the East-West Hall around the Gofa Mebrat Hail area, including the decoration. The production cost w...


Jan 7 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO

Beyond Beauty, 'Swagger' Industry

On the first floor of the Shekina Building around Edna mall, Bole, there is Gresh Nail, Eyelash, Makeup, and Hair Salon. As you set foot in, there are three women sitting waiting for their next turn to get the beauty treatment. The room is packed and busy with about 30 women getting their nails and hair done and others getting their make-up done. A woman in her 40s, Tigist Baede, has her hands protruding on a table for more than an hour while the manicurist in a black uniform is taking her time with the nails as carefully to achieve perfection. Tigist has been a customer of Gresh Salon for...


Jan 7 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU and RAHEL BOGALE

Crowd Walks, Pyramid Talks

About 40 young recruits in their 20s gathered last Sunday on the fifth floor of the Blue Sky Hotel in a neighbourhood popularly known as the Haya Arat area. The training seminar was organised for alternative and novel schemes making individuals "successful" in business. A wheedling affiliate treats the incoming recruits at the door leading past eager eyes to a table at the hall's centre. Permission to attend was granted following a 200 Br payment made electronically to one of the affiliates before the event. The company, Crowd 1, prides itself as "the largest crowd marketing company in t...

Feature

Jan 7 , 2023

Give It a Shot :Back to the Roots

On the way from Gollagul Tower to Bole Medhanealem, a few metres away from Adey Abeba stadium, lies The Spot Classic Bar. The lights reflect on the name at the topmost, right above the drinks display...

Jan 7 , 2023

No Disguise; Custom Tariffs and Levies

In the mild weather, late afternoon last week, a young college student in his 20s was on his third-day visit to the Addis Abeba Airport Customs Office. Dawit Berhane waited for more than an hour outsi...

Jan 1 , 2023

Inflation Clouds Holiday Exhibition

As a prime venue for holiday shenanigans, the gates of Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre near Mesqel Square seemed rather quiet last Tuesday evening. Leaving the renovated stares behind, the booming so...

Nov 12 , 2022

UNCLOTTING CITY ONE STROKE AT A TIME

A tarmac road on the hill from the CMC roundabout to the Wossen roundabout displays a giant blue and red neon sign. The Axon Stroke & Spine Center is bound by the American Medical and Samaritan S...

Sep 13 , 2022

TikTok: More than a Distraction

For most of human history, fame was a rare phenomenon reserved for royalty, war heroes, religious figures and a handful of others who had achieved something of incredible significance or could afford...

Sep 10 , 2022

Microfinance Institutions Dive Deep into Auto Financing

It was a five-seater Suzuki S-Presso model, boasting a sleek exterior and eye-catching inside. It marks the owner's determination to keep it spotlessly clean. Getachew Mitiku, 34, left his home in the...

Jul 9 , 2022

Marks to Erase: Tattoo Removal Business Booms

The traditional tattoos in the shape of a cross on her chin and forehead tell a story. It is not much of a leap to guess from the intricate markings that Feleku Kassa, 29, was raised in rural Ethiopia...

May 28 , 2022

Wedding Industry Rejoices Business Rebound

Matrimony is never a dull affair in Ethiopia. Contesting "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", it is noisy, elaborate, extensive, expensive and joyous. Come wedding season, and the streets are bustling with lon...

Apr 22 , 2022

Growing Speciality Coffee Market Promises Sweet Prospects

Habtamu Bogale is a farmer who takes a great sense of pride in knowing "every inch" of the thick highland forests of Keffa. It is hard to challenge, for he grew up in Keffa Zone, South Western Regiona...

Apr 22 , 2022

Walking on Eggshells: Poultry Farms Grapple for Survival

Not much noise was coming from the six pullet barns as expected from such places. Five remained empty; four employees stood nearby the only barn housing chicken coops, readying to feed the fowl. A...

Apr 22 , 2022

Tella Thrives Owing to Price Jumps in Liquor Market

Near Hayat Hospital in Bole District lies a cosy and traditionally-furnished establishment dubbed Shifta Restaurant. For an outing in the busy neighbourhood of Addis Abeba, the name – literally t...

Mar 26 , 2022

Ride-Hailing Companies Proliferate, Gov't Remains Incognizant

Before joining the taxi-hailing business, Abraham Temesgen, 33, spent his days working as a technician for a radio station based in Addis Abeba. His earnings were not enticing enough to keep him from...

Jan 15 , 2022

Diaspora Homecoming Breathes Life into Businesses. Will It Last?

On the verge of losing his job as a sales officer at Ayat (Real Estate) Share Company, Waktola Woldemichael was caught in a desperate search for potential homebuyers. In his late twenties, he could be...

Jan 7 , 2022

Affordable Homemade Cakes Contend for Sweet Market

Mekiya Ahmed, in her mid-thirties and a mother of one, returned to Ethiopia five years ago after the civil war broke out in Yemen. The homecoming was anything but easy. She spent nearly a year without...

Jan 1 , 2022

Hospitality, Guesthouses Recover as Diaspora Begins to Descend on Capital

Yilkal Kefyalew, 53, returned from Canberra, Australia, five years ago. He invested in the guesthouse business when the hospitality industry was booming in Addis Abeba and across the regional states....

Jan 1 , 2022

Silky, Flufy Dresses Cost a Pretty Penny

Not long after dawn on Friday, December 31, 2021, traders in Merkato opened their shops, anticipating a spike in business as the Christmas holiday approached. As the cold morning got warmer, the marke...


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Can Mamo Overhaul the Central Bank? It’s Long Overdue.

It is not common to see an appointment for a senior federal government office stir debates...

Editorial | Jan 28 , 2023

Trailblazer Energy Firm LydetCo Goes Off-Grid

On the capital's outskirts, at about 400 meters from the Ayat roundabout, sits a sparkling...

Featured | Jan 28 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU

FUND STRAPPED YOUTH

Last week saw thousands of young individuals queueing at three branches of the Development...

Agenda | Jan 28 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU

"MISS" MATCHED APPOINTMENTS

In what has become common in the past four years, a new round of nominations was put befor...

Fortune News | Jan 28 , 2023