Content: Fortune Feature

Besides cutting travel times significantly and offering scenic views of farmlands, Addis-Adama Expressway has more to display. As the competition among companies gets fierce, they try to seize any opportunity to publicise themselves. The recent boom in billboard and other forms of advertising has spread its wings over the expressway as well. If someone is wondering what to set their eyes on the next journey, they should be ready to be bedazzled with adverts and infomercials, reports FASIKA TADESSE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

To deal with the fast-paced routines, we have become heavily dependent on technology to carry out basic household chores. As urban dwellers including Addis Abebans try to multitask in both their personal and professional lives, many gadgets that were once considered a luxury have now become household staples. The city is witnessing a spike in the demand for washing machines as more urbanites are willing to invest in machines that best fit their needs, reports BERHANE HAILEMARIAM, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER

The capital has recently witnessed one of the worst floods that took the life of one and left hundreds homeless. Victims were moved to temporary shelters while others still struggle to find a suitable place to live in. Some blame the lack of sufficient measures to prepare and protect the citizens from such calamities, while others hold the poor road infrastructures responsible. Nevertheless, the state is taking action to tackle the problem and brace itself for future catastrophes, reports BERHANE HAILEMARIAM, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Restaurants could generally be either cheap but unsatisfactory or satisfactory but expensive. Eros, on the other hand, offers the best of both worlds. It provides patrons and newbies alike with a heightened dining experience that does not weigh customer’s pockets too much. With an interior design that cost almost 13 million Br and cuisines few could find unoriginal, it is the latest classiest addition to Addis Abeba’s eateries, writes CHRISTIAN TESFAYE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER. 

In the past, fresh graduates young men and women, flocked to Arat Kilo and La Gare areas in search of a job. These areas are known for their notice boards filled with various job posts and newspapers with vacancy announcements. Now, that trend is diverting to the digital system. Job seekers are using their devices and the Internet to search for jobs via text messages and websites. To serve them, the number of companies that engage in these services has reached 293 as of October 2017, reports FASIKA TADESSE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

New businesses including betting where people predict soccer match results and place a wager on the outcome, enabling many to earn from thousands to hundreds of millions of dollars in a single game. As an emerging new trend, the Capital has seen the opening of 10 betting houses in the past one and half year alone, reports HAWI ABDISA, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

The painting market is one of the fastest expanding segments owing to the growth in the construction industry. With the boom in the construction of residences, the quality of paints is also evolving in the country. As of now, there are over 88 paint factories in the country compared to just less than 10, two decades ago. This has created opportunities for many people who have an experience of putting a colourful touch on walls, whose business grows drastically as the holiday approaches, reports BERHANE HAILEMARIAM, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Constructing billboards and other advertisements has not been permitted to the private sector since 2012. There is no new directive issued by the Addis Abeba City Administration yet. But, from February to June 2017, the construction of billboards permitted for five months owing to a letter from the Mayor’s office, paved way for billboard advertisers to erect more billboards than ever throughout the city’s main routes, reports BERHANE HAILEMARIAM, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Fortune: What is your most memorable holiday? Each holiday has an unforgettable moment; it is iconic in its way. It’s not always about dining together but spending time with my relatives, whom I have not been able to see for a long time. The holidays I used to spend at my parents’ house were the […]

A successful vocalist is a respected social figure with admirable talent and profession. Nevertheless, in pondering over their lives, it becomes evident that music really bakes no bread in Ethiopia. Asked of their lifetime earnings, veteran musicians would often say, “my riches are the people.”  But in a new age, with new media and its unprecedented reach, the nation’s performers are making more money, reports ABIY SOLOMON, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Times are constantly changing and each of our old, inconvenient ways of life along with them. Even the ways in which people used to do the most random things like hunting down a taxi have become modernised. Making them safer, quicker and more convenient than ever. And even though the world is no stranger to such a system by now, our country is just getting its first test through the recently flourishing taxi-hailing applications, reports HAWI ABDISA, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Nation’s Singers Shun New Year Festivities A social media campaign calling for a boycott on concerts organised by singers during holidays has started. The boycott, according to various social media campaigners, is said to be a response to the public unrest in Amhara and Oromia regional states, where people were arrested and injured by security […]

Although, the fact that inner beauty outshines external looks remains to be undisputed, the effect of one’s looks on their social interactions is also undeniable. No matter how shallow or unfair it may seem, the book is often times judged by its cover. And this does not seem to be lost on most residents of Addis Abeba, who are now putting the matter of their self-presentation into the hands of professionals. Such businesses are currently improving the variety and quality of their makeup services to cope with the ever growing number of customers, reports HAWI ABDISA, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

New year is a time for new things and beginnings, especially for children. It is a time to grow, to move along, and start afresh. However, not every child is granted this bliss. Rather for some, new year brings fresh strains along with it. And this unfortunate truth does not seem to go totally unnoticed. And here it comes, the emergence of individuals and organisations which provide school packages to these needy children, reports HAWI ABDISA, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

Most of the time, business owners hire professionals that are trustworthy and reliable. And most of the time, these professionals may lack practical knowledge even if they have some understanding in core academic areas. For years, CEOs in Ethiopia have been putting someone they trust to help them understand and manage their company’s financials. Someone who knows the business, can read through financial reports, and turn it into information needed to make critical decisions. This is where the CFOs come into the scene and the companies who train them, reports FASIKA TADESSE, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER.

The hectic lifestyle of parents in the capital city encounters the tough decision to send their children to day care centres. As the number of families with both parents working outside their homes increased, the demand for day care services hit high. Some say that children who go to day care centres are more sociable and better in their classes while others argue that children should be raised with families until they become competent to attend  school, as BERHANE HAILEMARIAM, FORTUNE STAFF WRITER, reports.