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October 16 , 2021 . By BERSABEH GEBRE

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 raising two children kept her from enrolling at one of the many makeup schools popping up across the capit...

October 2 , 2021 . By SAMUEL BOGALE

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, during the Imperial Era. In over a century, Addis Abeba has seen more than 30 mayors, all but a woman. Last week, this changed when Adanech Abiebie Desa was elected to serve as the first-ever female Mayor of Addis Abeba, a city whose foundation it owes to another woman, Empress Taitu. Adanech had a debut with the city as a deputy mayor for over a year. However, her induction on September 30...

September 26 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI

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 was among close to 40 million registered voters, Tesfahun could not vote for the candidate to represent him in regional and federal legislative houses for five years to come. That was because officials at the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) scrapped voting in the Somali region over allegations of irregularities in the voters' registration process. He did not give up. Two weeks ago,...

March 27 , 2021 . By BAMLAK FIKADU

Growing But Little Understood Business Afoot

An application developer who has recently taken up hiking to get some exercise, Mignot Tariku's first experience with her new hobby came in November of last year. After the COVID-19-induced national state of emergency was lifted, she began to use hiking to relieve job stress. One of her friends from her work shared a hiking group on Telegram, the social media platform, that led them to plan a hike on one Sunday morning. "It was a different and unforgettable experience," she told Fortune. Mignot, 27, and her friends have gone hiking at least once a month since, and the experience has h...

Feature

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...

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...

September 10 , 2021

Pandemic, Forex Crunch Hits Cross-Border Trade Hard

The temperature was almost 30 degrees celsius on a Tuesday afternoon last month. Motorcycles were everywhere, driving across the border between Kenya and Ethiopia but without any restrictions. Secu...

September 10 , 2021

Cinema Industry Gasps for Breath

When Yoseph Kassahun, 28, graduated from Addis Abeba University with a degree in civil engineering seven years ago, he had already decided to pursue a career unrelated to his field of study. Instead,...

September 10 , 2021

Fast Food Chains Continue to Flourish, Despite Rising Living Cost

On a regular Tuesday evening on Cameroon Street, across Bole Medhanialem Cathedral, Filimon Hailu and his friend Yohannes Bahru were making their way through a bustling crowd in one of the city's busi...

September 4 , 2021

Bazaar Scenes Struggle with Low Demand, Surging Prices

Wearing a grey sweater, chatting with his spouse and playing with his two daughters, Belay Asrat seemed unbothered by the noise and clamour coming from the crowd. On a Saturday morning, he and his fam...

September 4 , 2021

Linkage the Missing Link in National Ambition to Transform Agro-processing

A father of four, Seifu Worako caught a bright glimpse of hope when Yirgalem Integrated Agro-Industrial Park opened earlier this year. A company based in the Park, Duoley Food Processing Plc, producer...

September 4 , 2021

Pandemic Businesses Quietly Dying Amid COVID-19 Fresh Wave

When Abdella Mohammed, 35, moved to China, he was a teenager, sent by his family to pursue an education in international business management. He spent 18 years there, most the time in Shanghai, workin...

September 4 , 2021

Hotels See Light at End of Tunnel, Tourism Continues to Languish

It is a windy morning, and the sun is rising over Lake Hawassa, 272Km away from the capital. The birds are chattering. Fishermen are floating on a wooden boat over the coffee-coloured river. Meanwhile...

June 21 , 2021

Voters Persevere over "Frustrating" Hurdles

The sixth national elections are underway in Addis Abeba and voters have been standing in line since the crack of dawn to cast their ballots in what are the country's first elections in six years. Des...

May 8 , 2021

An Industry Grasping at Straws

For Shemisu Tahir, who owns a grocery store inside the compound of Ayat Condominium, dealing with milk suppliers is no different from sucking the blood out of a stone. Persuading the agents tasked to...

April 30 , 2021

Catering Flourishes as Traditions Fade

Last year, Yitayish Abebe, a mother of four, attended a family event. The occasion was one of a kind. As opposed to her usual experience, food was not served by the hosts, who were just sitting and en...

April 30 , 2021

A TREND TO WATCH Pay-TV in Ethiopia

Henok Mehari is a musician who founded the Mehari Brothers musical band in 2006. In addition to leading the popular musical group, which includes his siblings Robel, Lewam, and Halal, Henok is also we...

April 30 , 2021

COVID-19 Induced Businesses Emerge

A few months ago, Meklit Desalegn was hosting a guest from Dubai. Her guest stayed at her house for a few weeks and when his return date drew close, he took a test for COVID-19 to comply with travel...

April 30 , 2021

Shifting Streams, Evolving Markets

Stories about business ventures that have been suffering from the consequences of rising inflation, shortages in foreign currency, restrictive government policies, the slowed economy due to the Novel...

Columns

Commentaries | Nov 27,2021

Financial Sector-sourced Glucose Drips No Remedy to Save Economy

Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most savage...

Editorial | November 27 , 2021

Public Apathy Impairs COVID-19 Vax Drive

Pedestrians passing by the St. George Cathedral in Piassa a couple of weeks ago could noti...

Featured | November 13 , 2021 . By SAMUEL BOGALE

Sunday Markets Offer Consumers Respite from Soaring Prices

Consumers and traders have congregated in designated areas of Addis Abeba for a Sunday mar...

Agenda | November 27 , 2021 . By SAMUEL BOGALE

SUNDAY MARKETS OFFER RESPITE

Sunday has become a sought-after market day for residents of Addis Abeba. If they venture...

Fortune News | November 27 , 2021

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COVID-19 UPDATES: All the stories and commentaries on Coronavirus, in one place

BEAUTY'S PRICE: Makeup Schools Thrive Despite Prodigal Fees