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EGG-TRAVAGANT PRICES SCRAMBLED HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS


A public service employee who earns 7,500 Br a month recently found himself walking away empty-handed from a street vendor near Anbessa Gibi Park (Russia St.) in Addis Abeba. Only weeks ago, he could buy 20 to 30 eggs a week at under 10 Br each, but...

Feb 23 , 2025


Fortune News

AliExpress Enters Local Market, Regulation Remains Uncertain

Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress, part of the Alibaba Group, announced last week that it will start accepting Birr for transactions. The service, set to begin on February 24, 2025, is also being ro...

Feb 23 , 2025

Money Market Watch

Birr Takes a Beating as Central Bank Sets Record Highs in Forex Market

It is official. The formal forex market has the private big five banks — Awash, Abyssinia, Dashen, Wegagen, and Zemen — offering buying rates for a dollar last week that exceeded the “psychologi...

Feb 23 , 2025

News Analysis

Bunna Bank's Asset Surge, Credit Jump Cloak Profit Squeeze During Inflation Strain

Bunna Bank, in its 15th year of operation, has posted noteworthy gains in deposits and total assets in the 2023/24 financial year while revealing mounting challenges in profitability, an outcome that...

Feb 23 , 2025


Latest Updates

Football Clubs on the Brink as Spending Outpaces Sense

Ethiopian football's premier competition is experiencing a financial crisis. Behind the allure of pa...

Feb 23 , 2025


Cheap Imports, Tax Burden Weaken Demand, Choke Cotton Industry

Ethiopian cotton producers are struggling to sell their goods as Value-Added Tax (VAT) hikes prices...

Feb 23 , 2025


Pharma Manufacturers Push for Tripartite Loan Fund to Boost Production

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are seeking greater loan access to ease financial strain caused by high...

Feb 23 , 2025








Agenda

Egg Prices Soar, Families Struggle, Bakeries Bleed as Market Swings

Endalk Eshetu stood arguing with a street egg vendor on Russian Street, near Anbessa Gibi Park in Amist Kilo. It was Thursday at 5:30 PM, the peak of rush hour, with long taxi queues as employees left their offices. The street was crowded with peo...

Feb 23 , 2025


Farmers Struggle with Fertiliser Price Hikes as Soil Acidity Affects Productivity

In the Southern Gonder Zone of Amhara Regional State, skyrocketing fertiliser prices have thrown farmers into crisis, threatening both their livelihoods and the...


USAID Funding Suspension Triggers Crises, Hits Health Sector, Leaves Thousands Jobless

Demelash Tekesete, a consultant for an NGO, was stunned by the sudden halt of US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding. “It was unexpected a...

Feb 9 , 2025







Editorial

Africa Wants to Mark Own Homework with Homegrown Credit Agency

Africa is a place where the frustrations of its elites run high due to what they feel are external yardsticks distorting the continental potential. Ironically, successive generations of leaders have long borrowed foreign institutional models from the...

Feb 23 , 2025


IMF Tells Ethiopia to Stay the Course, with Leap of Faith on the Market

Madame Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recently became the third IMF chief to set foot in Addis Abeba in over 30 years. Her arrival showed Ethiopia's shifting economic reality. Unlike her predecessors, who once...

Feb 16 , 2025

The Race to the AUC Follows Mahamat's Grand Entrances, Quiet Exits Legacy

This week, the African Union's (AU) annual summit in Addis Abeba is set to be more than a routine exercise of convention by heads of states. The continent is beset by increasingly intricate conflicts and a leadership vacuum left by outgoing Chairperson Moussa...

Feb 9 , 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

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...

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

Coffee Diversity in the South, Biopiracy in the North

The global coffee trade has sharpened the focus on imbalances between producing and consuming countries. More than 90pc of the world's coffee is grown in the global south, yet consumption remains predominantly a global north preoccupation. In “The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade & The Elusive Promise of Development”, authors Benoit Daviron and Stefano Ponte revealed how...

Feb 23 , 2025


What Ethiopia Can Do in the Face of Healthcare Crunch as USAID Pulls Plug

Ethiopia has relied on American foreign assistance for decades, receiving between 1.1 billion and two billion dollars annually through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In 2023 alone, it received about 1.3 billion dollars, making it the la...

Feb 22 , 2025

What Ethiopia Can Do in the Face of Healthcare Crunch as USAID Pulls Plug

Ethiopia has relied on American foreign assistance for decades, receiving between 1.1 billion and two billion dollars annually through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In 2023 alone, it received about 1.3 billion dollars, making it the la...

Feb 23 , 2025


My Opinion

Africa's Push for a Jubilee to Break Free from Neo-Colonial Grip

African leaders such as Thomas Sankara and Kwame Nkrumah had warned about external debt becoming a tool of neo-colonial dominance. In the 1980s and 1990s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank's structural adjustment programs forced African states to slash public spending, privatise industries, and open markets to foreign investors. The resulting austerity weakened public institutio...

Feb 23 , 2025


Will Pledges Turn to Lifelines for Sudan's Deepened Crisis?

The conflict in Sudan, pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has caused a humanitarian emergency that deepens by the day. These two forces, once part of a single military apparatus, toppled a civilian government togeth...

Feb 16 , 2025

Developing Countries Need a New Approach to Long-Term Financing

The world is in the midst of a financing crisis. As world leaders work to mobilise trillions of dollars to meet climate and development goals, expensive public debt is limiting governments' ability to make long-term investments. A long-term framework for low-i...

Feb 9 , 2025






Featured

Publishing Industry Contends with Soaring Costs, Shifts Digital

Walelgn Ayele, an aspiring young author, faced a harsh reality when he attempted to publish his first book. Printing 1,000 copies of a 450-page book would cost nearly half a million Birr. He quickly realised that paper size and weight were just the beginning of a complex and costly process. "To publish a book nowadays, you either have to be a government official or extremely rich," he said. "It's impossible at these prices." The publishing industry is struggling with soaring paper costs, c...

Feb 9 , 2025


Commentaries

Is Humanity Failing to Capitalise on the AI Revolution?

I was fortunate to participate in the recent AI Action Summit in Paris, where many discussions emphasised the need to steer AI in a more socially beneficial direction. At a time of increasingly loud calls for AI acceleration from Silicon Valley – and now from the US government – the opportunity to focus on what we want from the technology was like a breath of fresh air. As I noted in one of my speeches, we should start by asking what is valuable and worth amplifying in human societies. Wh...

Feb 23 , 2025


News Analysis

Bunna Bank's Asset Surge, Credit Jump Cloak Profit Squeeze During Inflation Strain

Bunna Bank, in its 15th year of operation, has posted noteworthy gains in deposits and total assets in the 2023/24 financial year while revealing mounting challenges in profitability, an outcome that illustrated the increasingly competitive and inflation-affected banking industry. The Bank's total assets climbed by 17.5pc to 54.53 billion Br, and deposits rose by 20pc to 43.87 billion Br. Analysts praised these advances as signs that Bunna Bank was effectively expanding its market presence. Y...

Feb 23 , 2025


Delicate Number

276

The value in dollars of Ethiopia’s exports under AGOA in 2021, up from 930,000 dollars in 2000. It was a remarkable jump of 29,600pc, before the Biden Administration delisted Ethiopia from beneficiary countries in 2022.

Feb 16 , 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

". . . a pyromaniac who can't resist setting sires."

In a spirited opinion piece Al Jazeera posted, former President Mulatu Teshome (PhD) accused Eritrea's President Isaias Afewerki of fueling conflict in the Horn of Africa. Mulatu blamed Isaias for stirring tensions once again, even after the Pretoria Peace Agreement ended the two-year civil war, in which Eritrean forces participated as allies to the Ethiopian National Defence Forces.



View From Arada

Treating Passwords Like Toothbrush, Virtual Schemes Endanger Unsuspecting Public

I spent a quiet Saturday afternoon at one of my favourite hideaways, La Patisserie Cafe, known for its excellent pastries and coffee. While my car was being washed, I enj...

Feb 23 , 2025




Fortune Video




Sunday With Eden

Soaring Rent Crisis Pushes Residents to the Brink

Addis Abeba is in the grip of a worsening housing crisis. Rent prices have surged to record levels, forcing many residents into financial distress. Even those who manage to secure housing agreements are finding themselves vulnerable to sudden and unlawful rent hikes. A relative's experience with a real estate company depicts the growing problem. She agreed to rent an apartment for 60,000 Br per...

Feb 23 , 2025


Child Neglect in Plain Sight, Stronger Laws to Combat Lack of Parental Responsibility

Last weekend, after attending a wedding, my husband, toddler, and I were preparing to leave early when we heard the unmistakable cries of an infant inside a car. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion turned into a moment of shock and heartbreak as we witne...

Feb 16 , 2025

A Wake-Up Call, the Need for Self-Reliance

For decades, African countries, including Ethiopia, have heavily relied on financial aid and humanitarian assistance from developed nations, particularly the United States and European states. America's recent decision to withdraw support from key internati...

Feb 9 , 2025


Life Matters

The Increasing Presence of Women in Leadership

Following the recently concluded 38th AU Summit, I was captivated by the presence of incoming heads of state and officials. Yet, what caught my attention was the Ethiopian women in high-ranking positions, welcoming these dignitaries with authority and grace. A wave of pride washed over me, seeing women not just participating, but leading their country's representation was profoundly moving. For so...

Feb 23 , 2025


True Modernity Requires a Shift in Mindset, Openness to Innovation

Addis Abeba has undergone a admirable transformation. The construction has boomed, making the city almost unrecognisable to anyone returning after an absence. New roads cutting through once-clogged areas, gleaming skyscrapers piercing the skyline, and sprawlin...

Feb 16 , 2025

The Art of Self-Promotion, Balancing Humility, Visibility

I will be honest; self-promotion is not my strong suit. A complex mix of self-doubt, perfectionism, and perhaps even self-sabotage often holds me back. It is a strange paradox. If everything were easy and effortless, what would I have to strive for? But...

Feb 9 , 2025





Radar

ROOTED WALLS

A tree growing on the grounds of the Hilton Addis hotel compound has the consolation of not being cut down. According to Global Forest Watch, from 2001 to 2023, Addis Abeba lost 365hct of tree cover, representing a 49pc decrease. Likely a Ficus species, known for extensive or invasive roots, the tree has integrated into the inside wall of the 56-year-old hotel. Fig trees are commonly found in vari...

Feb 23 , 2025


Sovereign Fund Reviews Mid-Year Performance of Line Companies, Calls for Strategic Improvements

Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) launched its mid-year performance review for its portfolio companies, displaying mixed results for the first half of the fiscal year. Ethiopian Sugar Industry Group (ESIG) reached 95.3pc of its sales goal, selling 64,190tn of sugar for 6.1 billion Br—a 132pc year-on-year growth—despite capacity and supply issues. The Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterpri...

Feb 23 , 2025

In Picture

POLE POSITION

Ethiopia Electric Utility's medium-sized, burgundy Toyota pickup truck drives around Gurd Shola carrying wooden poles previously used to hold transmission lines. Such poles are constantly being replaced by their concrete versions, which offer greater stability and resilience, reducing the risk of electricity disruptions...

Feb 16 , 2025


CORDIAL CONNECT

Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva shared a friendly moment during her recent visit to the Ministry. Her first visit since last year's IMF-backed economic reforms, Georgieva discussed progress with officials and also explored Addis Abeba's new tourist attractions and IMF-funded social projects...

Feb 16 , 2025