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November 20 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI

Mobile Money or Card Payment? The Jury's Still Out

Nassir Alemayehu runs a retail shop in Merkato. He was one of the first clients to enrol three months ago as a merchant on Telebirr. A mobile payment platform launched earlier this year by the state-owned Ethio telecom; 7,300 merchants have joined it. Nassir's experience with customers proves a l...

August 7 , 2021 . By SAMSON BERHANE

How Much Monthly Income Provides Decent Living?

The weather was chilly, but this did little to dampen the vibrant Sunday evening at restaurants in the Bole neighbourhood. On a cold night a few weeks ago, Mikyas Tsegaye was warm and well-fed at Food Zone Restaurant. He seemed unbothered with the pricey dish of sautéed beef (shekla tibs) he had just finished, laying back and enjoying his beer. A wholesaler in Merkato, the 30-year old Mikyas can afford to lead a decent living, owing to his success in the clothing market. He inherited a family business with a daily turnover of around 70,000 Br eight years ago after cutting short his education...

January 5 , 2020

SOCIAL MEDIA: NOT SO FREE OF CHARGE (LESSON IV)

In the 2010s, Ethiopia, along with the rest of the world, learned the hard way that the astounding technological improvement in the exchange of information exacts a terrible cost. Facebook, YouTube and Telegram may be free to access, but the cost they exact on socio-political relationships is devastating. Rarely has a weapon as fantastic for political mobilisation emerged throughout human history. It has been unprecedented in its ability to create political polarisation and propagate misinformation and disinformation to a wide section of the population within minutes. Ethiopia’s experienc...

January 5 , 2020

POLITICAL REFORMS: FREE SPACE DOESN’T NECESSARILY ENTAIL A FAIR ONE (LESSON III)

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's (PhD) administration took an action rarely undertaken by any other regime in the country’s history. It suddenly removed the restraints - some legal and others only implied - on political organisation and free speech. Every individual and group with a political agenda took this opportunity to expound on historical memory, their own understanding of present socio-political circumstances, and the best possible future outcome for the Ethiopian state. But the opening up of the political space did not mean that everyone would be willing to play by the rules. Moder...

News analysis

September 26 , 2021

Fintech Firms, Banks Buckle Up to Fight Growing Parallel Forex Market

The increase in the informal flow of foreign currency could be unyielding. However, banks and fintech firms rush to avail digital remittance platforms, positioning themselves to boost inflow by signif...

September 10 , 2021

Despite Consumers Anxiety, Holiday Markets Remain Buoyant

In the morning around 11am of Wednesday last week, half a dozen customers, mostly women, are lined up in the butter section of Shola Market. Shola is one of the largest trade hubs in Addis Abeba, host...

August 28 , 2021

In War Time, State Manoeuvres to Command the Market

Two days after sanctioning traders from making price changes, hoping to ward off inflationary pressure, the Addis Abeba City Administration officials have banned landlords in the capital from increasi...

August 21 , 2021

Inadequate Risk Management Continues to Claim Lives

Today, August 22, was supposed to be a day of celebration for a group of students under the Mekane Eyesus Seminary School, located just off Guinea Bissau Street in the Mekanisa neighbourhood of Nifas...

July 3 , 2021

In Banking, Technology Paces Ahead of Policy, Laws

Commercial banks are caught in a dilemma as they cannot issue payment cards customers with forex accounts can use to make international retail payments due to the absence of laws governing the transac...

June 19 , 2021

Anxiety, Pallidness Consume Voters Ahead of Polls

In the runup to the sixth national elections, the voting date has seen its fair share of controversies. From the year-long debacle in multiple postponements to the incapability to conduct polls in all...

January 5 , 2020

RULE OF LAW: WHERE A STATE CAN NEVER FAIL (LESSON X)

A developing country like Ethiopia inevitably has many challenges. But nothing poses the greatest risk like the breakdown of order and the rule of law. And not by the law. The monopoly on legitimate v...

January 5 , 2020

TAXES: A SMALL PIE CAN ONLY GIVE SO MUCH (LESSON IX)

Ethiopia’s policymakers, international financial institutions and the public agree that it is far better to mobilise one's resources than borrow money from international creditors and development pa...

January 5 , 2020

EDUCATION POLICY: SO MANY DEGREES, SO LITTLE SKILLED (LESSON VIII)

The crucial role education plays in supporting a competitive economy was not lost on policymakers. With a strong emphasis on the natural sciences, efforts were made to improve primary and secondary-le...

January 5 , 2020

DEVALUATION OF BIRR: THE BITTER PILL THAT NEVER WORKED (LESSON VII)

The Birr was devalued against a basket of major currencies twice over the last almost three decades. The first one was in 1992, when a new government under the late Meles Zenawi devalued the Birr from...

January 5 , 2020

MANUFACTURING SECTOR: RIDDLE WRAPPED IN AN ENIGMA (LESSON VI)

It should have been easy. The manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP is insignificant, although it is a high productivity area that can boost Ethiopia’s foreign currency earnings. But the sector...

January 5 , 2020

MEGA PROJECTS: IT’S ALL ABOUT FOLLOW THROUGH (LESSON V)

Successive editions of plans for growth, dubbed Growth & Transformation Plans (GTPs), were launched 10 years ago, putting an emphasis on public infrastructure financing both to stimulate the econo...

January 5 , 2020

UNPRECEDENTED ECONOMIC GROWTH: ALSO BROUGHT ALONG INCOME INEQUALITY (LESSON II)

Before all foreign news stories about Ethiopia started with the sentence, “The reformist Prime Minister of Ethiopia who came from humble backgrounds . . .,” they started with, “One of the fastes...

January 5 , 2020

POLITICAL TRANSITION: NO WALK IN THE PARK (LESSON I)

After 27 years of domination of the political space, the EPRDF unraveled from the inside enduring three years of anti-government protests. It gave way to the meteoric rise of Abiy Ahmed (PhD) both on...

June 29 , 2019

Assassinations Cast Shadow on New Era

The unforgettable memory of Etsegenet Berhe, one of the prominent local business people, dates back to the celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium 11 years ago. He was in Qobo town, northern Ethiopia...

June 1 , 2019

What Went Wrong with Ethiopia’s Policy Bank?

A Turkish businessperson, Mehmet Yesildag, came to Ethiopia five years ago with anticipatory energy and big hopes. He planned to establish a large leather factory with a production capacity of manufac...

Columns

Commentaries | Nov 20,2021

Truce - Desirable, Useful and Attainable!

Leaders of the warring parties in Ethiopia`s year-old militarised conflict may think they...

Editorial | November 20 , 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

It's Tax Season! Uncle Sam Struggles to Meet Target

October and November are hectic months for those employed by the civil service working in...

Agenda | November 20 , 2021 . By SAMUEL BOGALE

A TAX SEASON FOR ATROPHIED ECONOMY

As October and November rolled in, so did the tax season, when tax officials and businesse...

Fortune News | November 20 , 2021

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

Mobile Money or Card Payment? The Jury's Still Out

How Much Monthly Income Provides Decent Living?

SOCIAL MEDIA: NOT SO FREE OF CHARGE (LESSON IV)

POLITICAL REFORMS: FREE SPACE DOESN’T NECESSARILY ENTAIL A FAIR ONE (LESSON III)

News analysis

Fintech Firms, Banks Buckle Up to Fight Growing Parallel Forex Market

Despite Consumers Anxiety, Holiday Markets Remain Buoyant

In War Time, State Manoeuvres to Command the Market

Inadequate Risk Management Continues to Claim Lives

In Banking, Technology Paces Ahead of Policy, Laws

Anxiety, Pallidness Consume Voters Ahead of Polls

RULE OF LAW: WHERE A STATE CAN NEVER FAIL (LESSON X)

TAXES: A SMALL PIE CAN ONLY GIVE SO MUCH (LESSON IX)

EDUCATION POLICY: SO MANY DEGREES, SO LITTLE SKILLED (LESSON VIII)

DEVALUATION OF BIRR: THE BITTER PILL THAT NEVER WORKED (LESSON VII)

MANUFACTURING SECTOR: RIDDLE WRAPPED IN AN ENIGMA (LESSON VI)

MEGA PROJECTS: IT’S ALL ABOUT FOLLOW THROUGH (LESSON V)

UNPRECEDENTED ECONOMIC GROWTH: ALSO BROUGHT ALONG INCOME INEQUALITY (LESSON II)

POLITICAL TRANSITION: NO WALK IN THE PARK (LESSON I)