Four Firms Secure Deal to Electrify Rural Towns

Jun 1 , 2019


The government hired three Chinese and one Spanish firm for 12 small-scale solar energy development projects. The companies, hired by the Ethiopian Electric Utility, will be electrifying 67,700 rural homes in all parts of the country. The projects will be built in three areas of Oromia Regional State, two areas in Amhara and Southern Nations & Nationalities Peoples’ regional states each, and one each in Somali, Tigray, Afar, Benishangul Gumuz and Gambella regional states. The projects are jointly financed by the World Bank and the government of Ethiopia, which raised 8.5 million dollars and 59.6 million Br, respectively. About 25 projects are in the design phase, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved 15 million dollars in loans and 100 million dollars in credit grants for these projects. The World Bank Group approved 400 million dollars of credit grants for solar power development projects. The World Bank has also provided loans and grants worth 375 million dollars for the first phase of the National Electrification Program launched in 2017, aimed at both integrated grid and off-grid electricity access with the latter to comprise 35pc by 2025.


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Digital Heights for Coop Bank, Profits Dip

The Cooperative Bank of Oromia (CBO) announced that a total transaction volume of 1.36 trillion Br was made through 489.5 million transactions on its digital platform, Coopay E-Birr. Fuel payment transactions alone reached 1.15 billion Br across 105,500 transactions. The platform added 8,959 agents, 32,840 merchants, and 3.85 million new subscribers in the year. However, at 2.51 billion Br, the Bank's gross profit before tax declined by 26pc from last year's 3.39 billion Br. Board Chai...


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AI-Powered, Sharia-compliant Digital Financing for MSMEs, Consumers Debuts

ZamZam Bank, in partnership with Kifiya Financial Technology, has launched a Sharia-compliant digital financing service, "Ansar Digital Financing". The service, which the Bank asserts is Ethiopia's first, aims to transform access to financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly women and informal sector workers. The announcement was made during a formal launch event held at the Haile Grand Hotel last week. Melika Bedri, president of ZamZam Bank, stated that...


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Local, International Firms Cooperate to Bridge Skill Mismatch

In a bid to address the pervasive skill mismatch, Geez Education & Training Plc (GET) has allied with International financial and management institutions to bridge the gap. Three international institutions, the Global Academy of Finance & Management (GAFM), the American Academy of Project Management (AAPM), and California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), have entered into a cooperation with GET at an event held last week at Skylight Hotel. Officials believe the move will con...