FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers TRADE AFRICA Election 2026 New TIME REMAINING UNTIL ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL ELECTION 0Days 0Hours 0Minutes 0Seconds




Local Tech Leader Breaks Ground in Competition

Feb 20 , 2021


[ssba-buttons]

Pazion Cherinet, the co-founder of Orbit Health, has been selected for this year's Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK. Pazion will be the first shortlisted Ethiopian candidate since the competition emerged in 2014. A total of 16 entrepreneurs from across the continent are on the list. Orbit Health, developed by Pazion, is a digital health platform that manages and stores patient data, including appointments, diagnoses, tests, doctors’ notes and prescriptions. The shortlisted candidates will be involved in a support programme that encompasses business and communications training, funding, as well as networking opportunities to help them come up with an improved innovation and business plan through July 2021. Following this, four finalists will be selected to pitch their ideas, with the winner and runners-up receiving 25,000 and 10,000 pounds each, respectively. The innovations featured are expected to address most of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.


Radar

Coffee Export Platform Links Ethiopian Roasters with Overseas Consumers

Ethiopian coffee roasters have gained a direct route to international consumers through a multi-brand e-commerce export platform launched by DHL Express Ethiopia and EXM Global PLC. The companies say it is the first platform of its kind in Ethiopia. Bringing together 10 Ethiopian coffee brands in a single digital marketplace, the platform enables overseas customers to order freshly roasted coffee in quantities ranging from speciality retail purchases to larger commercial volumes. DHL Express...


Radar

Addis Abeba Clears 59Km of Rivers, Remains Short of Halfway

Addis Abeba has completed 59Km of river cleanup and development work, although total coverage has yet to reach 50pc. Mayor Adanech Abebe said the 59Km stretch was transformed in one and a half years as she presented a comprehensive review of the city's strategic plan from 2022 to 2026. Mayor Abebe described the progress as a major "breakthrough", saying the work relied entirely on the city's funding, engineers, architects and workers. By comparison, she said, a world-renowned foreign contract...


Radar

Kisse Platform Brings Collateral-Free Microloans Through Agent Network

Mefithe Microfinance S.C., MZ Tech, and Arifpay Financial Technologies S.C. have launched “Kisse”, an agent-powered digital microloan platform designed to expand access to finance for micro and small enterprises. Through trained local agents, borrowers can apply for collateral-free, short-term business loans. Once approved, the funds are transferred to mobile wallets or bank accounts through Arifpay's payment gateway. The partners said loans can be disbursed within hours. Under the par...