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September 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 to have their names and stories printed. The idea of fame began to change in Renaissance era Euro...

September 10 , 2022 . By ELSHADAY HAGOS

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 Asko area early in the morning last week, driving this shiny blue-black vehicle. After a few minutes on the road, he picked up the day's first customer. The passenger hopped in. Thus Getachew began his job of navigating Addis Abeba's traffic-clogged streets. He makes his living as a driver in the booming ride-hailing industry. It has been two months on the job. However, Getachew has experience...


July 9 , 2022 . By RAHEL BOGALE

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. She was sitting in a medical recliner, wearing a rather uncomfortable expression, as she listened to a nurse, Selam Hailemichael. Feleku was attentive, receiving an orientation about a treatment she would get that day. She was anxious about what would happen afterwards. The nurse was preparing her for a rather unusual medical treatment at the Marcia Surgical Centre, in the Olympia area behind...


May 28 , 2022 . By REDIET KASSAHUN

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 long convoys, honking horns and flashing their turn signals. Hana Berhanu, 30, envisioned such a wedding since her youth. She had been planning a picture-perfect wedding after graduating in electrical engineering from the Addis Abeba University and landing a job a decade ago. Over the past five years, Hana and her fiancé Alemayehu Gebremichael, now husband, had been saving for their big day. He w...

Feature

April 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...

April 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...

April 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...

March 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...

January 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...

January 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...

January 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....

January 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...

November 13 , 2021

Public Apathy Impairs COVID-19 Vax Drive

Pedestrians passing by the St. George Cathedral in Piassa a couple of weeks ago could notice a minivan parked outside the church. Inside the van was a group of seven health workers who were out to vac...

October 30 , 2021

Farmers Shift to Green-Gold Eying Export Markets

Not long ago, Ashenafi Ayalew, 41, would have laughed if told he could generate over half a million Birr from growing avocado on a hectare of land. A father of five, Ashenafi has spent the better part...

October 23 , 2021

The Gig Economy: Small Jobs, Large Outlook

When Abraham Fanathun enrolled on a diploma programme at Rift Valley University four years ago, his intention was to join the ever-growing workforce as an accountant. He comes from a family that had a...

October 16 , 2021

Flavoured Beverages Frenzy Takes Over Bar Scene

It is a small but cosy establishment dubbed "Beer Lovers" located in the Ayat neighbourhood, in the northeast suburbia of Addis Abeba. Over two dozen customers braved the chilly night, grouped around...

October 16 , 2021

BEAUTY'S PRICE: Makeup Schools Thrive Despite Prodigal Fees

Winta Ta'ime, 28, has been waiting for the opportunity to break into Addis Abeba's blossoming cosmetics industry. She has worked as a technician in a nail salon for over four years. Her job and raisin...

October 2 , 2021

MADAM MAYOR!

Almost three generations after Addis Abeba was founded, the elegant landmark of the capital, the City Hall, took 15 years to finish and a budget of eight million Birr when it was inaugurated in 1964,...

September 26 , 2021

Benishangul-Gumuz Remains Hole in Ethiopia's Electoral Debacle

When voters went to the polls in June this year, Tesfahun Adugna was following the political theatre from his home in Jigjiga, the seat of Somali Regional State, 622.5Km from Addis Abeba. Though he wa...

September 18 , 2021

Vehicle Security Market Crops Up as Car Thefts Climb

On an ordinary day last month, Dawit Eshetu, 26, parked his Toyota Hiace minibus half a kilometres from Qechene Medhanialem Church along Dej. Haileselassie Avenue. A taxi driver, he had come home from...


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Rip the Band-Aid Off. Float the Birr. Liberalize Capital Account

The foreign exchange market is seeing a war of attrition, with the Dollar gradually taking...

Editorial | October 1 , 2022

TikTok: More than a Distraction

For most of human history, fame was a rare phenomenon reserved for royalty, war heroes, re...

Featured | September 13 , 2022

Forex Troubles Dip to New Lows

The irony could not have been lost on Abel, in his late 20s, whenever he goes around the N...

Agenda | October 1 , 2022 . By BERSABEH GEBRE

TWICE THE FESTIVITY

Over the past week people gathered in the heart of Addis Abeba at Mesqel Square to celebra...

Fortune News | October 1 , 2022