Addisfortune-The Largest English Weekly in Ethiopia (original) (raw)
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Wegagen Bank Casts First Stone in Securities Exchange Pond
Wegagen Bank, lined up to become the first company to list on the newly launched Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), has cleared a key milestone in its quest to go public. On January 10, the Bank registered with the Ethiopian Capital Market Authorit...
Fortune News
Money Market Watch
News Analysis
Latest Updates
Agenda
Leather Industry Falters, Quality Declines, Factories Shutter
Daniel Megersa, a butcher in Addis Abeba's northern Asko area, has watched his in-home slaughtering business decline sharply in recent years. Once overwhelmed by customer calls during holidays like Genna (Christmas), Daniel now faces dwindling demand...
Editorial
Banks Struggle to Lend as Branches Bloom, Coffers Wither
A severe cash shortage squeezes the economy, and the deposit-to-loan ratio has slumped below 80pc, hitting its lowest point in decades. The scarcity of credit, often termed a credit crunch, has a strangling effect on the economy. Few businesses secur...
The Year That Falls Short in Lofty Ambitions, Brittle Realities
Time seldom passes without prompting reflection, and the dawn of 2025 should nudge Ethiopians into contemplating their trajectory as the first quarter of the 21st Century closes. This vast country of over 100 million people, endowed with abundant resources...
Exclusive Interview
Turning Pages, Breaking Barrier
Ten entrepreneurs reveal the ups and downs of building businesses. From turning coffee waste into oil products to digitizing traditional equb, they share how personal experiences, local problems, and ideas shaped their startups. Their toughest obstacles include lack of funding and skepticism from cl...
SOMICK'S LENS
Sewmehon Yismaw, known affectionately as "Somick," is a filmmaker who describes his life as a mystery he would personally direct. He speaks proudly of his childhood, recounting how his gift for storytelling was nurtured by a local figure, Taju, who would tell...
State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitive powerhouses, the sovereign wealth manager, Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is at a defining moment. At the helm is Brook Taye (PhD), its third CEO since its founding in...
Viewpoint
Impact Investing Bridges Ethiopia's Poverty Gap, Profit Divide
Impact investment appears to have gained traction in Ethiopia as a strategy, addressing the country's social and environmental issues while pursuing financial returns. In a place where poverty, food insecurity, and climate vulnerability remain urgent, this hybrid approach presents a path for delivering economic growth and lasting societal benefits. By channelling capital toward ventures seeking to...
Subsistence Is Not Enough
In 1990, more than one-third of the global population lived below the World Bank's extreme poverty line (2.15 dollars a day). Since then, the share has fallen below 10pc, a remarkable and inspiring achievement. But barely scraping by falls far short of what im...
My Opinion
Closing the AI Skills Gap in 2025
With artificial intelligence (AI) poised to reshape industries worldwide, a paradox is emerging. Despite growing demand for people with the knowledge to leverage the technology's potential, AI-related skills remain in short supply. The scarcity of AI-related skills – from proficiency in machine learning, prompt engineering, and data science to understanding AI's ethical implications – is be...
COVIDs Lessons Have All Been Forgotten
In December 2019, as the world was looking ahead to a new year, a novel virus was quietly spreading in China, having most likely made the leap from animals to humans in a Wuhan “wet market.” Soon, the COVID-19 pandemic would bring the world to a grinding h...
Good Growth Requires Getting Public-Private Partnerships Right
The United Kingdom's (UK) Labour government has given serious thought to the public investment needed to get the economy back on track after 14 years of austerity, neglect of social infrastructure, and capital flight triggered by Brexit and uncertain economic...
Featured
Paper Bag Industry Thrives, Plastic Ban Looms
Bethelhem Dejene has noticed a growing demand for paper bags. After completing a contracted project, she decided to continue producing paper bags with the same team. As the founder and CEO of Zafree Papers Plc, a company producing tree-free paper pulp from agricultural waste, Bethelhem plans to begin paper bag production this month. The company also plans to establish a factory with an investment of five million dollars. The paper bag market is booming, driven by a draft Solid Waste Manage...
Commentaries
Tariffs Protectionism's False Promises
The world economy awaits with dread the arrival of Donald Trump's trade tariffs. Trump clearly loves import duties and has promised to raise them for goods from China, Europe, Mexico, and even Canada. How much havoc this will wreak depends not just on the tariffs' scope and magnitude, but also on the purpose to which they are put. Economists dislike tariffs for a variety of reasons. Like all barriers to market exchanges, they create inefficiency. They prevent selling something of value more t...
News Analysis
Hijra Bank's Leap of Faith in Soaring Profits Soar as the Industry Tests Newcomers
Hijra Bank's year-end financial report for last year reveals a noteworthy leap in profitability, with a net profit climbing more than four times its previous year's record. Industry observers, aware that a relatively small baseline can inflate year-on-year gains, nevertheless see evidence of progress in cost containment and resource mobilisation. In its financial year 2023/24, Hijra Bank posted a profit after tax of a little over 100 million Br. Its net profit margin on total assets reached ...
Delicate Number
364
The volume of capital mobilised in Birr from 23 new investment projects operationalised during the fourth quarter of 2023/24. Although the projects' number registered a 91.7pc growth compared to the same period the previous year, it plummeted by 86.2pc in the value of cumulative investment capital. The mismatch could show a surge in low-capital or micro-scale ventures dominating the market, possibly due to tightened credit conditions or risk aversion among larger investors.
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 media, showcasing what polling stations will look like during the upcoming national elections; and they took the...
Verbatim
"It'll be completed within a year."
Abdulhakim Mulu (PhD), state minister for Trade & Regional Integration (MoTRI), announced last week that the federal government would fully phase out its longstanding fuel subsidies. Despite hiking retail prices by 10pc last week, a rise that pushed the cost of a litre of benzene beyond the 100 Br mark, federal authorities continued to spend around 300 billion Br subsidising the import and distribution of petroleum products.
View From Arada
A Journey Down Meory Lane, Alumni Reunion
When a couple of old elementary school friends started chatting on WhatsApp, I was curious but unsure what they were planning. Soon, they created a group named after our elementary school an...
Films Review
Stay Connected With Addis Fortune
Sunday With Eden
Pride Overpowers Empathy, Civility
Last weekend, my family and I set out for a simple visit to relatives in the Old Airport neighbourhood. What should have been a routine trip quickly turned into a harsh reminder of the decline in civility and respect within the society. The incident began innocently enough. As we parked near our relative's home, a man in another car reversed recklessly, nearly hitting a family member who had co...
A Brief Encounter Turned to a Lifetime of Inspiration
Reading about Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, left a lasting impact on me in law school. Then, I had the privilege of attending a conference with him at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) compound when I was 21 years old. His speec...
A Journey Through Nature, Culture, History
Two weeks ago, my family, toddler, and I flew to Arba Minch for a few days. Nestled in the lush landscapes of southern Ethiopia, our vacation was a serene retreat from the hustle and bustle of daily life. The trip was a unique experience for all of us. It w...
Life Matters
The Burden of Beauty, Pressure for Perfection
Ethiopia's kaleidoscope of skin tones reflects its rich diversity. Complexion varies not just between individuals but often within the same person. Many, myself included, grapple with uneven skin tone, a frustrating reality where the color of the face differs noticeably from the rest of the body. This is not merely a cosmetic issue; it deeply affects self-perception and confidence. My struggle...
Raising Children Takes a Village
Parenting is a journey, filled with unexpected challenges and moments of reckoning. Recently, I found myself confronting a dilemma that tested my patience and principles on how to address the troubling behavior of a neighborhood child who regularly plays with...
When Appearance Dictates Respect, Attention
A casual Friday conversation with my friend revealed a disheartening truth about workplace dynamics and societal expectations surrounding clothing. She recounted how her colleagues' behavior shifted dramatically depending on her attire. Colleagues who regularl...
Radar
GERD Faces 80bn Br Funding Gap, Nears Completion
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a 5,150MW hydropower project, requires an additional 80 billion Br, one-third of its 2024 revised cost of 240 billion Br. The dam has reached 97.6pc completion. The dam began in April 2011 with an estimated budget of 80 billion Br. “The civil construction is complete, but the electromechanical work remains unfinished,” said Solomon Daniel, public...
Authority Enacts EV Charging Stations Directive
A new directive setting technical standards, licensing requirements, and safety measures for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations has been approved. Created by the Petroleum & Energy Authority (PEA), it aims to ensure the quality of energy supply and the safety of charging stations and accelerate the adoption of EVs. The directive outlines service provision regulations, including technic...
In Picture
EMERALD BITES
It is chickpea pod season in Addis Abeba, a time when residents enjoy "Eshet," a favorite green nibble with roots in local households. Available from November to January, market-oriented production of these nutritious pods (rich in protein, antioxidants, and fiber) is a recent development. As a major chickpea producer (contributing about 17pc globally), Ethiopia benefits from this dual-purpose cro...
PHANTOM PUMPS
While modern fuel stations with glass partitions are appearing in Addis Abeba, a contrasting reality that suspends fuel supply to new stations unfolds, citing national policy to reduce fuel imports and promote electric vehicle adoption. According to Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise (EPSE), this comes as the country intends to decrease fuel import expenditure by four percent this year, and tra...
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