Despite Hurdles, the Future Spells Promise for Africa

An alumnus of Harvard Business School, Admasse Tadesse runs a regional bank with assets of over five billion dollars. A president of the Eastern & Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB) for seven years, he is pleased to see Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) continue to inspire the nation and captivate the world with his sense of equality and appointment of competent individuals. TAMRAT G. GIORGIS, Fortune’s managing editor, sat down with him in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss Africa’s prospect for economic integration and investments and his take on the changes that have happened in his native land.

Rophnan Nuri, Rophy, was only 16 when he started producing music, literally six years after his first performance before his classmates. The ninth child of a family of 10, he…

Ethiopia hosts one of the largest United Nations teams in the world, with 28 agencies, funds and programmes. Net official flowe from UN agencies was recorded at close to 3.4…

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest foundations in the world, has made over 600 million dollars of direct investments in Ethiopia, where it opened an office…

After three years of public unrest that saw a Prime Minister resign and two emergency decrees, the beginnings of political reform appears to be on the horizon. One of the…

Mulatu Astatike, the 74-year-old father of Ethio-Jazz, is a musician, composer and arranger of a unique fusion of traditional Ethiopian beat with jazz and Latin music. Born and raised in…

Finance is the underpinning of a modern economy and a strong banking industry is critical to economic growth especially in a developing country like Ethiopia that has 17 commercial banks in total, including the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) and 16 private banks. Those who head these banks, the presidents, have much weight on their shoulders being the custodians of the financial assets of the country. This year, for the banking industry, has been a profitable one with commercial banks registering an aggregate net profit of 22 billion Br, of which eight billion Birr came from the private banks, under the leadership of its presidents.
How such prominent figures of the economy could manage all the pressure and how their lives could differ from others?

Fortune gives a glimpse of the lives of the of these bankers and how they celebrate the holiday.

Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of International Monetary Fund IMF African Department, presented IMF’s findings and answered questions at the “Launch of the sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook: Fiscal Adjustment and…

A new labour bill introduced by the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs (MoLSA) revised 53 articles in the labour proclamation which was last amended in 2008. But the envisioned revisions have not been without their controversies, with the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) deeming 18 of the amendments unfair to employees. CETU, headed by Kassahun Follo, in its general assembly, has warned that they would be forced to call a strike if these specific points remain unaddressed. The Union stresses that labour laws should equally favour the employee and employer, and the bill would not only hurt labourers but also hamper investment. SAMSON BERHANE, FORTUNE’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, sat down with Kassahun to discuss the possible way forward

Stellar pianist Girma Yifrashew, a world-renowned performer and composer has been honing his craft and fine tuning his sound for over 20 years. Girma has been playing the piano with…

The notable Businesswoman and Entrepreneur Elleni Gebre-Medhin, (PhD) sat down with Fortune at her new office to discuss what she is working on. She had just unveiled a new project to the world that focuses on young people. It was a sunny afternoon and she was excited about her new venture. She spoke about the opportunities her innovative project will give upcoming entrepreneurs and how it can support start-ups. The project “Blue Moon” was launched a few months ago with much promise.

Michael Hailu has been in the music industry for a decade. A fan of Jennifer Batten, guitarist for Michael Jackson, he has worked with a slew of known local artists, including Teddy Afro, Michael Belayneh and Dawit Tsige. With a unique sound, unmatched ability to play the guitar and his membership in Jano Band, he has become a household name. Jano Band is known to have been discovered by Bill Laswell, the producer behind world famous stars, including the Irish band U2 and Ethiopia’s own, Gigi. Michael reflects with FORTUNE WRITER, SAMSON BERHANE, on his music, on the music industry, on Jano Band, his family and looks ahead.

Timely and significant reforms are needed for Ethiopians to feel heard and that their government is meaningfully addressing issues around good governance, corruption, land management, public consultations, the right to free speech, and other human rights, . Canada stands ready to support Ethiopia in these efforts. We continue to encourage the Ethiopian government to release the report prepared by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on the situation of unrest, and any similar future reports. This would send a constructive and encouraging signal to the Ethiopian people according to Canada’s Foreign Minister, Stéphane Dion, who spoke to Fortune reporter, Samuel Getachew, during his recent visit to Ethiopia.

The night Americans were wrapping up their votes in the polling stations across the United States, a group of journalists from many countries met Daniel Serwer, a professor and director of Conflict Management at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, inside Washington’s National Press Club to discuss the foreign policy implications of the election, which he described was “ugly.” Little was known one of the candidates, the one on the Republican ticket, would triumph to the shock of America and the world.
Serwer appeared to have little doubt on the eventual raise to power of Clinton, a candidate he voted for. He was reluctant to say much about Donald Trump’s world view and possible policies towards many countries and particularly Africa. Tamrat G. Giorgis, managing editor for Addis Fortune, was one of these journalists who discussed the making of foreign policy under a new administration. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Girma Birru, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United States, talks about the historic relationship between the two countries, the current American presidential election, the civil unrest at-home and his hope for Ethiopia’s Diaspora in the United States to be more engaged and integrated in their adopted country. Fortune staff Writer Tamrat G.Giorgis, also picks on issues of legacy the former Industry Minister wants to leave behind, as his ambassadorship approaches its decade-long anniversary.

The unlikely path to the top of the Economic Commission for Africa started under the most unlikely circumstances for Carlos Lopes (PhD). Born in Canchungo, Guinea-Bissau, in a small village…