Unemployment and Economic Growth in Ethiopia
By Abel Merawi
August 5, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- Being poor is no joke, especially when poverty is a national reality. It ought to be taken seriously. Some naively imagine the poor as weak and lazy; as if people can escape poverty if they simply choose to work harder. Being poor is also a probability that constantly keeps the middle class on their toes. Just imagine how long it will take you before you fall into poverty if you lose your current job. When your income is barely enough to bounce from one month to the next and when you find it hard to meet ends meet, saving becomes a phantom. As poverty looms over most households, it is essential to e
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Capitalism Becoming an Impediment to Morality
By Abel Merawi
June 26, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- When COVID-19 became a global pandemic, America was no exception. But the way the US handled it as a capitalist makes it an exception. In America, the novel coronavirus hit New York the hardest and the availability of medical supplies stood as a barrier. But the producers of medical kits, along with other states, had another plan in mind. For the companies, this was a profitable opportunity. They didn’t provide the medical equipment for the state which was hit the hardest, but rather to the highest bidder. This was easy for there was no shortage of bidders as other states joined the bidding despite the desperate n
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Ethiopian Airlines Lost over $550m due to COVID-19: CEO
By Staff Reporter
April 7, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- Ethiopian Airlines has lost more than $550 million in revenue due to the deadly coronavirus as confirmed cases of the pandemic in the country hits 52.
In a briefing on Tuesday, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Geberemariam said the loss revenue occurred because of the suspension of 91 international flights as COVID-19 restricts movements of almost half of the world population.
Tewolde said COVID-19 pandemic has hit the aviation industry hard as travel demand collapsed and some countries impose travel bans to try and contain the pandemic.
“Had the a
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Determinants of Market Value: Part I
By Abel Merawi
February 20, 2020 (Ezega.com) – On a typical day, it is usual to go to a shop and buy some goods. Perhaps, you wanted to buy some onions and the shopkeeper tells you the price is 20 birr per kilo. You ask why and you’re told that the market is going up these days. You are not satisfied with the response, but you still buy the onions since you need it. On another occasion, you wanted to buy a shirt and the salesperson says its 800 birr. As usual in Ethiopia, you try to bargain by offering 300 Birr and you finally end p buying it 500 Birr. Still, you can’t understand why you were asked to pay 800
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Ethio Telecom Earns 22.4 Billion Birr in Six Months
By Staff Reporter
January 15, 2020 (Ezega.com) -- Ethio telecom, the Ethiopian telecom monopoly, announced it has earned over 22.4 billion birr in revenue from its service sales during the first half of this Ethiopian fiscal year.
Briefing journalists on Wednesday, Ethio Telecom CEO Firehiwot Tamiru said the company has achieved 104 percent what it had planned for the first half of the budget year.
According to the CEO, the cash flow for the 126-year-old company, serving 45.6 million subscribers, was healthy and positive and saw a 10.9 percent increment over the last six months.
Firehiwot said the earning i
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More Opportunities Ahead in Tourism, Says Deputy Head of CTTI
By Staff Reporter
December 12, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- On a previous article we published regarding the Expansion of Hotel Business in Ethiopia, we promised to bring the Deputy General Director of Catering and Tourism Training Institute (CTTI), Gezahegn Abate Gizawe, to talk about the expansion of hotel in Ethiopia, the opportunities, as well as the challenges in the service sector across the country. Ezega News recently interviewed Gezahegn Abate Gizawe.
Gezahegn Abate Gizawe previously worked as head of Sub-city Education Office at Addis Ababa Nefas Silk Lafto Sub-city and Public and International Relations Directorate Direct
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Ethiopia to Get $ 6 Billion Loan, Assistance from WB, IMF: Official
By Staff Reporter
December 11, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have decided to provide a total of $6 billion to support the recently introduced homegrown economic reform in Ethiopia, a senior official disclosed.
Briefing journalists on Wednesday, Ethiopian State Minister of Finance Dr. Eyob Tekalegn said the global financial institutions have agreed to provide $6 billion to Ethiopia in the next three months, which represents 60 percent of the total $10 billion needed to execute the economic reform.
“The government has been engaged in resource mobil
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Ethiopia Allows Foreigners of Ethiopian Origin to Engage in Insurance Business
By Staff Reporter
November 5, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The Ethiopian parliament has lifted a ban that prevented foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin from engaging in insurance and finance businesses. Foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin can now engage in insurance and microfinance businesses.
In its 3rd regular session on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, the parliament unanimously approved the amended insurance business proclamation, allowing foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin to participate in the country’s insurance sector.
The most probable reason for the Ethiopian government to prevent foreigners but
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Mastercard Foundation Initiative Aims to Create 10 Million Jobs by 2030
By Staff Reporter
October 30, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- Over 10 million young people are expected to access dignified and fulfilling work opportunities in Ethiopia by 2030, according to a new job-creation initiative launched by Mastercard Foundation.
Named Young Africa Works in Ethiopia, the initiative by Mastercard Foundation will seek to create employment opportunities for Ethiopian youth in partnership with Ethiopia’s Jobs Creation Commission (JCC). Mastercard Foundation has committed an initial USD 300 million for the project.
Young Africa Works in Ethiopia is aligned with the Ethiopian government’s pl
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Ethiopian Earnings from Gold Dwindles to Just $32M, a Record Low
By Staff Reporter
October 10, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- Ethiopia has reported declining revenue from export of gold over the years, the latest being a record low of just $32 million this year, the country’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has disclosed.
In a presser he gave on Thursday October 10, 2019, an advisor to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Tewoldeberhan Abay, said the country’s earnings from the export of gold have dwindled over time from $445 million in 2014 to $32 million this year.
The advisor attributed the devastating earning from the resources to ever increasing contraband trade being carried out at gold extractio
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The Booming Hotel Business in Ethiopia
By Staff Reporter
October 1, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- Ethiopia is becoming East Africa’s new economic giant. The country has become the biggest economy in the region thanks to the dominating agriculture and service sectors which account for much of the country’s gross domestic product.
According to Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, in the current phase of the Growth and Transformation Plan, Ethiopia has planned to reduce the share of the agricultural sector in its Gross Domestic Product in favor of industry and service sectors.
The overall growth of Ethiopia’s economy has come from the expansion of the servic
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Addis Ababa Closes over 600 Businesses to Fight Inflation
By Staff Reporter
September 19, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The Addis Ababa City Government’s Trade and Industry Bureau has shut down more than 609 businesses and warned 2000 others allegedly for contributing to soaring inflation in the capital city.
In a briefing on Thursday, the head of city bureau, Engineer Emdaweq Abate, said shortage of basic goods, involvement of illegal brokers and businesses, as well as soaring contraband trade have caused galloping inflation in the metropolis.
According to the bureau, the contraband trade is widely going on in Addis Ababa where fruits and vegetables are sold at the heart of the city from tru
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Ethiopia Launches First Ever Bamboo Development Strategy
By Staff Reporter
September 3, 2019 (Ezega.com)-- Ethiopia has launched the first ever well-organized bamboo development and utilization strategy to exploit its bamboo resources, discloses an official and expert in the field.
Ashebir Wondimu, Senior Forestry Expert and Bamboo Focal Person of the Ethiopian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission told Ezega.com during a relevant meeting, the strategy aims to reduce poverty by creating job opportunities, ensuring green economic development and restoring degraded lands due to climate change.
The International Bamboo and Rattan organization (INBAR) has been implementing a bamboo d
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Ethiopia Introduces New Economic Reform to Rectify Macroeconomic Imbalance
By Staff Reporter
August 30, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The Ethiopian government has introduced a home-grown economic reform as part of a solution to rectify the macroeconomic imbalance the nation has faced for some time.
Officials from the Ministry of finance and cooperation have disclosed that the country has faced critical macro-economic imbalance which is being exhibited through record high debt burden, critical shortage of foreign currency and rising inflation.
The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) claimed that the Ethiopian economy has been growing by double digits annually for about a decade now, a figu
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Should Ethiopia Sell Ethio Telecom?
By Staff Reporter
August 23, 2019 (Ezega.com) – Last year, the government of Ethiopia announced plans to sell some key sectors of the economy, including Ethio Telecom, Ethiopian Airlines, and 13 sugar factories.
Following the announcement, some foreign companies have shown interest in these ventures, especially in Ethio Telecom. They include Vietnam's state-owned telecom company, Viettel, Johannesburg-listed MTN, and France's Orange.
The state-owned telecom monopoly has been earning the government hundreds of millions of dollars annually, contributing to the lion’s share of the country’s annual budget, which has
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METEC Asks Ethiopian Government to Cancel Over 24B Birr of Debt
By Staff Reporter
August 20, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC) has requested the Ethiopian government to cancel its debt of more than 24 billion, money that the corporation borrowed from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
The Corporation was established ten years ago by the Council of Ministers to advance Ethiopia’s industrialization drive. However, it has been a target of blame for lack of capacity, wastefulness and delays of mega projects, including the GERD.
Director General of the corporation Brigadier General Ahmed Hamza told local media on Tuesday that t
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Ethiopia to Import Four Million Quintals of Wheat to Ease Soaring Inflation
By Staff Reporter
August 17, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- Ethiopia is set to import four million quintals of wheat until the first week of September 2019 as part of an effort to ease the burden of souring inflation on the public, an official has said
Briefing journalists on Saturday, Public Relations Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation Haji Ibsaa said prices of food items, mainly wheat and other grains, have soared since June this year.
According to the Director, inflation rate on food items was reported 19.6 in June and 20.1 percent in July 2019. Similarly, the prices of food oil and sugar have increased for no
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Ethiopian Government Licenses First Foreign Leasing Company
By Staff Reporter
August 8, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The government of Ethiopia has licensed the first foreign leasing company called Ethio Lease to provide equipment leasing and financial solutions to different businesses in the country.
Ethio Lease is a subsidiary of Africa Asset Finance Company (AAFC), a US-headquartered equipment finance company that owns and operates a group of companies that provides asset backed lending and leasing services through Africa.
Talking about the significance of the launch of Ethio Lease, board chairman of the Ethio Lease Girma Wake said "leasing high equipment could have potentially transformative i
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Ethiopia to Allow Ethiopian Diaspora to Invest in Banks
June 16, 2019 (Ezega.com) -- The Ethiopian parliament is discussing a new bill meant to allow foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin to engage in the banking and financial services sector, according to the Ethiopian Reporter.
The new bill will amend the existing, restrictive banking and financial services proclamation, according to the report.
The bill has been tabled before the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) for approval.
The existing law bars Ethiopian-born Diasporas with foreign passports from opening banks, subsidiaries, or acquire shares in Ethiopian banks.
Last year, foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin
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Tigray Appoints CEO of Ethiopian Airports Deputy Mayor of Mekelle City
May 18, 2019 -- Tigray regional state has appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ethiopian Airports Enterprise, Tewodros Dawit, as Deputy Mayor of Mekelle city, according to the Ethiopian Reporter.
Tewodros Dawit has served as the CEO of Ethiopian Airports Enterprise for several years.
He was appointed deputy CEO of Ethiopian Airports in 2010 and its CEO in 2013, replacing Shiferaw Alemu, the former CEO.
Ethiopian Airports Enterprise is responsible for the construction and administration of airports in the country. The enterprise administers 23 airports, of which four are international.
It is unknown why Tewodros Dawit
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