FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Fortune Logo

TOTTERING TOWERS

May 18 , 2024.

A hurried renovation transpires on a conjoined pair of small buildings around the Mercato area. Many old buildings in the vast marketplace are remnants of shops built by Yemeni merchants who relocated from the old Arada area in the 1930s. The area has a thriving informal sector economy from which thousands earn daily bread. According to studies by the Centre for International Private Enterprise, nearly one-sixth of Ethiopia's urban employment is in the informal sector. Some studies have estimated the size of the informal economy in the country to be as high as a third of the GDP.


PUBLISHED ON May 18,2024 [ VOL 25 , NO 1255]

[ssba-buttons]

Most read

Editor's pick

Commentaries

What Happens Next to Globalization?

Despite the handwringing about US President Donald Trump's tariff war, which many claim sounds the death knell for the w...

Tightening the Noose on Private Schools. At What Cost?

A heated debate is unfolding about the role and impact of private schools, especially...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

In Taxing Aggressively, Fed's Fiscal Reckoning Arrives

Jul 19 , 2025

Parliament is no stranger to frantic bursts of productivity. Even so, the vote last w...

Legal, Policy Volatility Turns Promises into Headwinds

Jul 12 , 2025

Political leaders and their policy advisors often promise great leaps forward, yet th...

Civil Society Feels the Squeeze as Reform Era Unravels

Jul 5 , 2025

Six years ago, Ethiopia was the darling of international liberal commentators. A year...

Soaring Taxes Fail to Plug Holes as Audit Reveals Enduring Waste

Jun 28 , 2025

Meseret Damtie, the assertive auditor general, has never been shy about naming names...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

The Invisible Bias Against Caring Fathers

Last week, I was in the hospital, sick and out of commission. While I focused on reco...

Half a Century of Impact

On a cold Saturday afternoon last week, we gathered to honour a couple who have profoundly shaped both my life and my husband's, not just sp...

Life Matters

The Manual-Less Revolution

Across the world, and certainly in Ethiopia, new devices arrive fresh from the box while their instruction manuals remain untouched. Shiny a...

Lessons in Bureaucracy

Navigating bureaucracy often feels like moving through a labyrinth, where logic falters and clarity dissolves. The rules change with bafflin...