Addisfortune-The Largest English Weekly in Ethiopia

Barley Supply Chains Sway Under Regional Strains

The brewing industry faces a storm, with barley shortages leading to a substantial spike in prices, a scenario that has prompted alarm among industrial leaders. Barley is a fundamental ingredient in beer production, and with prices soaring from 3...

Mar 30 , 2025

Fortune News

Ministries Unveil Strategy for Local EV Procurement

Federal officials are accelerating the shift towards domestically assembled electric vehicles (EVs), with a landmark directive prioritising them in public procurement. The initiative, backed by the mi...

Mar 30 , 2025

Money Market Watch

As the Birr Slips, Banks Maneuver Quietly While Policy Stands Still

The Birr (Brewed Buck) edged slightly to stability against the U.S. Dollar (Green Buck) last week, revealing modest shifts in a market often characterised by subtle moves rather than dramatic swings....

Mar 30 , 2025

News Analysis

Addis Bank Races Ahead, Yet Trails Industry Peers

Mar 30 , 2025

Latest Updates

Authorities Eye Treasury Overhaul as Billions Vanish in Fiscal Fog

The federal government is pushing towards a single account for the treasury to consolidate its finan...

Mar 30 , 2025

Audit Finds Millions Unspent as Transport Ministry Wrestles with Merger Delays

The Ministry of Transport & Logistics faced scrutiny after federal auditors uncovered financial...

Mar 30 , 2025

Fuel Shortage Fuels Parallel Market in Tigray State as Supplies Falter

Tigray Regional State is experiencing an acute fuel shortage that has impacted agriculture, disrupte...

Mar 30 , 2025

Agenda

CHASED FOR A LIVING

At dusk, Haile Garment Square in the southern outskirts of Addis Abeba transforms from a quiet street into a lively market. Vendors quickly spread their merchandise — clothes, shoes, vegetables, household items — along sidewalks and street corner...

Mar 30 , 2025

"No Child Should Die Waiting"

Five neatly arranged children's beds lie in a small, dimly lit room inside Tikur Anbesa Teaching Hospital, on Yared St. Each was occupied by young patients unde...

Mar 23 , 2025

Coffee Bean's Rebellious Price Surge Leaves Local Market Parched

Addis Abeba's coffee culture is under siege as soaring prices ripple through every level of the market, from humble street vendors to bustling market stalls. ...

Mar 16 , 2025

Editorial

Media Council's Edging to Accreditation a Deceitful Drift

When the private satellite channel, Ethiopian Broadcasting Service (EBS), aired an emotional interview last week featuring a young woman's allegations of sexual assault, it inadvertently sparked a political firestorm. Rather than encouraging meaningf...

Mar 30 , 2025

Preventing War Far Cheaper Than Paying Its Deadly Price

Getachew Redda, head of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration (TIRA), at least up until last week, is no ordinary politician. Witty, articulate, and boldly confrontational, he seldom hesitates to criticise his political rivals within the Tigray People...

Mar 23 , 2025

A Country Governed by Guesswork, While Millions Lost in the Shadows

Ask anyone about the population of Addis Abeba, and a straightforward answer proves elusive. Wikipedia claims the city's population reached 5.7 million this year. Worldpopulationreview.com, however, puts the figure at nearly six million. The UN's Human Settlem...

Mar 16 , 2025

Exclusive Interview

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 2020, whose vision departs from convent...

Dec 22 , 2024

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Dec 22 , 2024

Patience - Consistency - Respect

France's Ambassador to Ethiopia up until last week, Remi Marechaux, arrived in Addis Abeba four years ago with a dual mandate of representing his country and engaging with the African Union (AU). He dove into familiar waters from his previous role as Director...

Aug 4 , 2024

Viewpoint

Ethiopians Taxed to the Bone as Legislators Attempt to Fill Aid Gap with New Salary Deductions

Federal legislators passed a controversial tax bill this month, mandating new contributions from employees and businesses to the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Response Fund (EDRRF). The bill plans to fill a financial gap left by the suspension of USAID funding, previously an important source for humanitarian and development programs across the country. The newly approved law empowers the Federal Disa...

Mar 30 , 2025

Healthcare Faces Setback as Talent Exodus, Foreign Aid Cuts Bite

Ethiopia's efforts to build a robust and accessible healthcare system face a severe roadblock, primarily driven by disabling shortages and management issues within its human resources sector. As the country works toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC...

Jan 1 , 1970

Travel Is a Right, Not a Privilege, and the Global South Leads the Way

For some, it is as routine as paying at the checkout counter. For others, it is as nerve-wracking as a prostate exam, and as undignified as being reprimanded in front of class. The experiences depend largely on one thing: where we were born. We are talking...

Mar 30 , 2025

My Opinion

Addis Abeba Restores Fountains as Residents Queue for Water

A decade after Ethiopia's socialist revolution, the military regime unveiled Dilachin — "Our Victory" in 1984, a towering monument erected on Churchill Avenue, near Ambassador Theater. Set in a park of 30,000Sqm, the memorial celebrated the revolution itself, the Ethiopian victory in a war with Somalia under Sied Barre (Col.), and honoured fallen Cuban soldiers who fought in this war. It feature...

Mar 30 , 2025

Selling Hope in an Age of Desperation

Visiting a bookstore, browsing an online marketplace, or walking through Addis Abeba's Abrehot Library recently, we may notice the overwhelming number of self-help books promising to fix our lives. Bookshops, street vendors, and online retailers alike offer ti...

Mar 23 , 2025

Right to Addis Abeba in the Age of Glitzy Facelift

Addis Abeba is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Gleaming high-rises, luxury apartment buildings, and sprawling infrastructure projects now symbolise the city's rapid renewal. As construction crews move forward with the second phase of the corridor project...

Mar 16 , 2025

Featured

Trapped Between Sunlight, Soaring Costs, Farmers Struggle to Ditch Diesel

Fenta Atele gazes at the shrinking shores of Lake Abaya, in Southern Regional State, worry etched on his face. Until recently, the lake's plentiful water allowed him and his fellow farmers to irrigate their thriving crops of bananas, onions, vegetables, wheat, and fruits. Today, however, he is wrestling with an economic crisis sparked by rising fuel costs. He used to earn 200,000 Br monthly when fuel prices were below 30 Br a litre. Now that retail gas prices have climbed steeply, Fenta's far...

Mar 16 , 2025

Commentaries

Maise Boom Displaces Ethiopia's Native Grains

Nearly three decades ago, the U.S. National Research Council published a landmark series titled "Lost Crops of Africa", spotlighting the continent's rich agricultural diversity. Its purpose was clear. The series discussed the indigenous African crops that could potentially feed not only Africa, but the world. While some advances have occurred since, many of these native crops still lag behind non-native industrialised species, largely overshadowed and underdeveloped. Southwestern Ethiopia viv...

Mar 30 , 2025

News Analysis

Addis Bank Races Ahead, Yet Trails Industry Peers

In an industry characterised by tight liquidity, regulatory pressures, and growing credit risks, Addis International Bank (AdIB) posted robust financial results for the 2023/24 fiscal year, marking itself as a standout performer among peers and mid-tier financial institutions. The Bank's net profit reached 413 million Br, surging by an impressive 85pc compared to the previous year, outpacing the industry's average net profit growth of around 32pc. According to Aminu Nuru, a financial analy...

Mar 30 , 2025

Delicate Number

650

The volume in gross hydro-energy potential Ethiopia has in terawatt-hours a year. This represents eight percent of Africa's entire hydro-energy potential. Ethiopia has only realised around two percent of this potential.

Mar 30 , 2025

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...

Oct 3 , 2020

Verbatim

"Home remedies . . . are increasingly implemented in households."

Mekdes Daba (MD), minister of Health, said in a televised session from the Jubille Palace, Menelik II Avenue, where she, along with other ministers, addressed questions from the public. According to her, the Ministry is focused on preventing transmissible diseases.

View From Arada

Mary Armede Done That, Seen It All

A small café near the Vatican Embassy (Apostolic Nunciature) at the turn of the millennium takes me back to my carefree university days. It was my favorite retreat during school breaks, a p...

Mar 30 , 2025

Films Review

Nope

Few would have imagined that the Peele in Key & Peele, a show on MTV's Comedy Central, would become a world-class director reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock and David Fincher. There is a sketch from Key & Peele, titled Town Hall Audience Member, one of the funniest outputs of the show, where Jordan Peele shows some promise as he acts entirely with his eyes to peak comedic effect. Other than that, at least to this author's eyes, there is nothing to indicate cinematic genius or even a great...

Sep 17 , 2022

RRR: PEAK OF BOLLYWOOD, FOR BETTER OR WORSE

Bollywood has finally peaked. The sentimentalism, chirpy musical numbers, physics-defying fight scenes and aggressively cheesy romantic plots have all come into their own in RRR, one of the biggest Bollywood hits in recent memory to gain an international audience. I would normally object to individual elements of the movie, including its ludicrous storyline and plot holes. But the way they have come together is strangely fascinating. RRR, which is short for “Rise, Roar, Revolt" and must be...

Sep 10 , 2022

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Fortune Video

Sunday With Eden

The Cycle of Generosity Coming Full Circle

In a world that often prioritizes individual success, it's easy to overlook the profound impact of generosity. Yet, time and again, acts of kindness create lasting effects; not just for those who receive them but also for those who give. The simple act of giving – whether time, resources, or support – ripples outward, touching lives in ways we may never fully realize. What's even more remar...

Mar 30 , 2025

The Convenience Trap

Over the weekend, I watched a mother I know closely hand her children a bag of chips and packed juice for lunch. She isn't the type to welcome feedback on her parenting, but I couldn't stay silent. Before I could say anything, she quickly reassured me that the...

Mar 23 , 2025

Opening Up: A Risk Worth Taking

A friend once shared her family's struggles with a group of people who had admired her life. They used to say they envied her. But after she opened up, they spread rumours and began to look down on her. They belittled her and used her family's problems to sham...

Mar 16 , 2025

Life Matters

Natural, Enhanced, or Just Exhausted?

As a woman, navigating the world of beauty and attraction often feels like confronting a maze of contradictions. My personal experiences and observations have led me to wonder how men perceive these complexities; particularly the gap between what they claim to prefer and how they actually behave. A recurring theme is the contrast between men's vocalized admiration for “natural” beauty and t...

Mar 30 , 2025

Shining Light on Small Businesses

The bustling streets of Addis Abeba now carry a heavier weight for business owners. The cost of doing business has been steadily rising, with new mandates adding to existing pressures. Take, for instance, the seemingly simple task of painting a shop's exterior...

Mar 23 , 2025

Scrolling for Symptoms: The Pitfalls of Online Self-Diagnosis

It is striking how much social media has threaded itself into the fabric of our lives. Beyond connecting us, it has become a primary source of news, education, and even health information, both physical and mental. Platforms like TikTok, with their rapid scrol...

Mar 16 , 2025

Radar

France Backs Ethiopia's SOE, Financial Sector Reforms

Around 3.5 million euros worth of technical support is promised by France to advance financial sector reform, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) policy reforms, capacity building, and public-private partnership (PPP) regulatory frameworks in Ethiopia. The assistance, to be implemented under the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), will focus on strengthening key reform initiati...

Mar 30 , 2025

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 admin...

Mar 30 , 2025

In Picture

FLAT LINES

A man is pouring water on the evenly queued Jerry cans, in the streets of Adey Abeba, around Saris. The city's 5.2 million residents require a staggering 1.3 million cubic meters of water daily. However, supplies stand at around 800,000 cubic meters. This has young men race door-to-door, selling jerry cans for around 40 Br. While this fills immediate needs, it's just a quick fix to the city's...

Mar 30 , 2025

DIMMING FLASHBACKS

A retired red BMW and a well-worn sofa still in use sit side-by-side around CMC. Relics of past journeys, their faded forms rich with memories, now they sit as outdoor junk. Addis Abeba generates approximately 750,000tns of municipal solid waste annually with an average per capita household waste of 0.45kg a day. Most of it is dumped in landfills, although illegal open dumping and burning remain w...

Mar 30 , 2025

650

"Home remedies . . . are increasingly implemented in households."

Nope

RRR: PEAK OF BOLLYWOOD, FOR BETTER OR WORSE

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