Metropolitan Chamber Launches Trade Fair After 3-Year Hiatus


Metropolitan Chamber Launches Trade Fair After 3-Year Hiatus

More than 75 domestic and foreign companies made their way to the trade fair organised by the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations (ACCSA), three years after it had its flagship annual event held last. Teshale Belihu, state minister for Trade & Regional Integration, opened the trade fair on February 23, 2023, alongside Mesenbet Shenkute, the Chamber's president. The five-day fair at the Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre, near Mesqel Square, is themed, "Enhanced Export for Sustainable Development." The 25th edition of the trade fair is relaunched after a series of events such as the pandemic and the civil war in the north brought a long hiatus. Teshale said the government recognizes that the private sector should be in the driver's seat to the economic locomotion, with the major source of our foreign currency being the export sector. The Chamber has scheduled three specialized international trade fairs to be conducted until the end of this year. Participating in the trade fair for the second time, Desalegn Werku, export manager of Beketysay Import & Export said the event has a piece of good news for manufacturing companies as local engineering companies exhibit their products. He suggests the chamber organise the trade fair at a time that does not overlap with an international trade fair in Dubai to retain foreign exhibitors and visitors.


Radar

Tech Ministry Falters as Audits Expose Mismanagement, Unmet Ambitions

The Ministry of Innovation & Technology is under scrutiny after an audit revealed lapses in project management and financial oversight. This raised questions about governance standards within a Ministry central to the country's tech-driven growth ambitions. According to the Federal Auditor General, the Ministry has completed only 11pc of its planned projects with its overall financial administration standing at 37.4pc for a year-long project that commenced in 2022. Budget mismanagement an...


Radar

Central Bank Keeps Lending Lid Tight as Inflation Squeezes Economy

The Central Bank has reaffirmed its decision to maintain an 18pc cap on credit growth, reinforcing a commitment to tighter monetary policy during persistent inflation and economic uncertainty. The National Bank of Ethiopia's (NBE) monetary policy committee cited ongoing concerns over inflation, which stood at 19.9pc year-on-year (YoY), and liquidity imbalances as reasons to uphold the restriction on lending. Bankers and analysts interpret this move as evidence of regulators' determination to...


Radar

Ethio Telecom Expands Services with DStv Streaming

Ethio telecom enters the entertainment pool with bundled DStv streaming services through high-speed broadband internet and mobile data packages. The partnership with MultiChoice Ethiopia aspires to merge the telecom's fiber broadband and mobile network with DStv's content. Subscribers can access DStv channels through mobile data or fiber broadband bundles, with discounts of up to 35pc through Telebirr or My Ethiotel (*999#) and up to 26.5pc at sales centers for fiber broadband bundles. Acc...