Content: Features

  • Car Decoration Business Speeds with High Demand

    Cars with decorations and additional body parts have become common sightings in Addis in the past few years. The number of car decoration business have increased as a result of this interest in modification and uniqueness has also soared. However, the business is feeling the crunch of high taxation on imports, as well as increasing competition in the sector. While some businesses are finding that business is booming, others are not feeling so optimistic, as REDIET BAYE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Cattle Price Goes Up Because of Drought

    Easter is one of Ethiopia’s famous holidays, celebrated with food and festivities after 55 days of the fasting season. The cattle market during this season booms as the number of people who visit the area increases, but this holiday, people are being forced to consider other options because of a price increase in cattle caused by the recent drought which killed many animals, FASIKA TADESSE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER reports,

  • Exhibition Business Sees Visitors Decline

    The Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre has served as a welcome diversion for many over the past two weeks. With 450 exhibitors- 50 of whom are foreigners- the Easter Bazaar is one of the great opportunities for retailers to make a good profit prior to the holiday. Now, with the declining number of visitors, the income of exhibitors has declined significantly, reports SAMSON BERHANE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

  • Electricity Works in Addis Nuisance to Residents

    The streets of Addis have been dug up, mostly in pedestrian areas, in order to install new electrical cable. However, the new construction is seriously inconveniencing pedestrians, forcing them to walk on the road instead of the safe sidewalks for pedestrians. The project is part of the city’s new electrification plans, which will replace older, and less efficient cables with updated ones. The trade off for city residents is the potentially dangerous streets now, and reliable electricity later, as MENNA ASRAT, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Tourism Sector Tries to Stay Above Water

    The declaration of the state of emergency led to the issuance of travel bans and warnings from various countries across the world. The tourism sector, one of the biggest contributors to the country’s GDP, took a big hit. The sharply declining tourist numbers means that hotels and tour companies were no longer making enough money to meet their targets. Since the extension of the state of emergency, tourism-dependent businesses are now playing the waiting game, as BEREKET BIRBIRSA, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Addis Expands Horizons to New Tomato Suppliers

    In Ethiopia, tomato is more than just a vegetable. Apart from being a diet staple and shopper’s favourite, tomato prices has a siginificant impact in the livelihoods of many residents. The past three weeks exhibited a three-fold hike in the price of tomato, reaching as high as 37 Br per kilo. One of the major reason was a decline in productivity in high yield areas such as Meqi Wereda, Oromia Regional State. Now, the market seems stablised with the introduction of new supplier to Addis Abeba, reports SAMSON BERHANE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

  • Avoidable, Regrettable Tragedy

    Rescue workers dig through a pile of debris to look for victims inside Reppi Landfill. A week earlier, on March 11, a massive landslide ripped through the area, killing 125 people and destroying dozens of homes. This story, which recounts that tragic day, reported by Samson Berhane, Fortune Staff writer, after interviews with survivors, rescuers and friends and family of the victims.

  • Demand for Tyres Spikes as Number of Vehicles Climbs

    Meseret Fekede, 26, retails tyres in her store located around Sebara Babur. She began selling tyres two weeks ago with a capital of around 150,000 Br. She receives her stock from wholesalers at a cost between 1,100 Br and 2,000 Br based on the thickness, width and diameter of the tyres. The majority of her […]

  • Local Growers Look for Love on V Day after a Tough Year

    Valentine’s Day represents a time of huge demand on the international flower market. Flower farms in Ethiopia, which export most of their products o European countries have to push to fulfill their clients targets. However, in the aftermath of a cold snap that damaged some crops and lowered productivity, flower farms are having to push to try to fulfill demand. The increase in production and the rise in demand on the local market means that prices are rising for both the suppliers and consumers as FREHIWOT YOHANNES and MENNA ASRAT, FORTUNE STAFF WRITERS, report

  • Cashing In Through Online Tubes

      Anyone that uses the internet has watched a video online. Websites are popping up in the country showing videos that are entertaining and informing for viewers. It is a new business idea to create a website and make a profit when the videos which are posted on a website goes viral. This new business […]

  • Heavy Fall in Ethiopia’s Light Industry

      The vision of Ethiopia is to see the country become the manufacturing hub of the continent especially in the manufacturing of textile, leather, agro-processing and other labor intensive industries by 2025. In order to meet this target, the country plans to heavily invest in industrial park expansion with a planned yearly investment of one […]

  • Anxious Days as Ethiopia Pins Hope on Tourism

    With two consecutive holidays of Epiphany and Christmas, cultural souvenir shop owners across Addis Abeba were hoping for a better market and get more revenues from tourists. However, the brunt of the political unrest is still reverberating and affecting the flow of visitors, with shopkeepers facing the brunt of the slow down, as DAWIT ENDESHAW, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports

  • Made in Ethiopia Shoes a Hit in Addis

    As the number of local footwear manufacturers has grown from two factories in 1991 to 21 today, dramatic changes are being seen in the shoe business. Despite a surge in local demand, the industry has a long way to go to be competitive in the international market, reports, SAMSON BERHANE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

  • Mobile Booksellers Keep Addis Reading

    With the country’s literacy rate at 40pc, readership in Ethiopia is growing. More and more people are developing the habit of reading in their spare time or making time in there busy schedules to read. Reading books has become common for people in all walks of life. The public’s demand for books is being filled more and more by non-traditional sellers of books, as MAHLET WORKAYEHU, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Addis Gets Groove Back

    Concerts are big business in Addis Abeba. Usually, to ring in the New Year and to celebrate various holidays, event coordination companies organise concerts with rising and established music stars to entertain the public. However, with the unrest in late 2016 and the declaration of the state of emergency, concerts were cancelled, because of pressure from the public on social media and the artist’s own feelings about the disruptions. Now that a few months have passed, concerts and live events are starting to come back on the city scene, as DAWIT ENDESHAW, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Chefs in Demand, Food Biz Booms

    The local culinary industry has come far. There was a time, when low-wages, fewer training facilities meant that chefs had to be trained on the job. Not anymore. Today, there are able facilities training the next generation of professional chefs in the country. Even as facilities open up and boutique-like restaurants and hotels venture into the country, the demand for trained chefs is rising, HAWAZ MERAWI, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Gift Markets on Slippery Slope

    With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, people are rushing around to buy the last minute things that they need to spend a nice holiday with their loved ones. In relatively recent times, this has meant the purchase of gifts to be exchanged with friends and family members. However, the changing face of the city’s commerce, with the increase of street vendors catering to almost any consumer’s needs, the way that shops are approaching the holiday is slowly changing, as MENNA ASRAT. FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • The Tricks and Trade of a Begger

    Begging is not an easy way of life in Addis Abeba. Some are insulted, humiliated and worse, but at the end, the struggle is to survive. To feed oneself, a child or a family is the priority for most. Areas, techniques and vulnerability determines who makes the most money at the end of the night. But each one has a story, as FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, SAMUEL GETACHEW discovers.

  • Politician Guide to Voters’ Psyche

    There is a popular saying. “People vote with their wallets.” This is based on estimates that, more than all other factors, like social issues, or even security, it is the state of the economy that matters most to voters. This was specially proved correct when Donald J. Trump beat Hillary Clinton for the US presidency. […]

  • Guest Houses Mushroom in Addis

    Pensions and boarding houses are in a rush to upgrade and meet the standard of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to be officially named guesthouses. For a pension to be allowed to upgrade, it needs to have a minimum of five bedrooms, a guest room and a reception area. It also needs to have adequate bathroom and shower facilities, a kitchen, ample security and housekeepers within its premises, FORTUNE WRITER BEZAWIT ADMASU discovers.

  • Sculpture Art Gets Its Day In The Sun

    While the profile of sculpture art is going up globally and in Ethiopia, there is still some reluctance on the part of ordinary consumers to turn to sculptures to fulfill their artistic needs. There are a wider range of choices for them in terms of material, design and cost, but although awareness is rising, there may not be quite as much change in the industry as some might like, BEZAWIT ADMASU, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER reports. 

  • Expo Ushers in Holiday Season

    With the festive season approaching, Addis becomes the sight of bazaars and expos all around town. Customers come to shop at the international and local vendors. There is a choice of places to go for customers, although some expos have better luck with customers than others. Customers are looking for their necessities at different prices than the shops outside. Their experiences can vary greatly from place to place as SAMSON BERHANE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Schools Strive to Reach State Standards

    Every few months schools have to undergo inspections to ensure that they are up to government standards. Educators have embraced the new standards as being forward thinking and student centered. However, there are some who say that private schools are being unfairly harshly graded on the inspections, while public schools are unable to fulfill even the most basic standards. The picture when trying to keep up with standards is not so rosy for either public or private schools as MENNA ASRAT, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.

  • Tattoo Business Leaves Indelible Mark on City

    Sometimes, older women go to tattoo shops to have their eyebrows tattooed, so as to cover up baldness and thinning. The young, on the other hand, have their idols and loved ones tattooed on their arms, necks, backs or chests. Many tattoo artists in the city use anesthesia only when they tattoo eyebrows, FORTUNE’S HAWAZ MERAWI reports.

  • Unlike Cubans, Ethiopian Emigres Remain Too Fragmented, Scattered to Impact US Politics

    In a race that is too-close-to-call, Ethiopians are leaning towards their her adopted countries potential woman-president. A close look at the tight races, no one is certain, who the 45th resident is going to be. Would it be the Republican candidate, who looked down on American’s African immigrants, as sex addicted and lazy population or would it be the Hillary, that advocated a crimes bill, that helped populate the countries court system and jails, with black faces? Fortune Staff Writer Tamrat G.Giorgis explores the environment