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Electric Cars Boom Tests Insurers' Petrol-Era Rulebook

Electric Cars Boom Tests Insurers' Petrol-Era Rulebook

A year after federal transport authorities restricted fossil-fuelled vehicles to clear the market for electric vehicles (EVs), domestic insurers are discovering that the road to electrification runs through their balance sheets. About 100,000 elec...

Jun 27 , 2026

Fortune News

Ethiopia's Exports Grow, But It Trades Little With Its Own Continent

Ethiopia is selling more to the rest of Africa than ever before. The trouble is that "more" still adds up to remarkably little. Exports to the continent jumped in 2025, yet trade with Ethiopia's ne...

Jun 27 , 2026

News Analysis

Built for Microfinance, Tsedey Bank Finds the Cost of Becoming Big

For most of three decades, Tsedey Bank made its living advancing a few thousand Birr at a time to farmers and traders across the Amhara Regional State. In its first full year as a commercial bank, mov...

Jun 21 , 2026

Money Market Watch

A Forex Auction Softens Pressure Without Moving the Boards

The Birr, the Brewed Buck, did not break in the forex market last week. It sagged across bank boards, revealing pressure rather than panic and leaving the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) with a hard m...

Jun 27 , 2026

Latest Updates

Smaller Fertiliser Bags Meet Bigger Doubts in the Fields

The federal government has begun distributing heavily subsidised fertiliser for the current producti...

Jun 27 , 2026

Federal Court Sends Fuel-graft Case to Trial on Amended Charges

Federal prosecutors last week opened proceedings on an amended charge sheet at the Federal High Cour...

Jun 27 , 2026

AG MESERET MAKES AUDIT MISMATCH HARD TO DEFEND

Federal and regional authorities have spent months urging taxpayers to pay more into the treasury an...

Jun 21 , 2026

Capital Market Surge Hits a Back-Office Bottleneck

The fledgling capital market is producing the headline numbers its architects hoped for. In a single...

Jun 21 , 2026

Agenda

Soaring Fares Strand Families on Highways

At the sprawling Lamberet Long-Distance Bus Station near Asmara Road, the usual din of engines and shouting conductors has given way to an eerie and sluggish rhythm. Clusters of medium-sized Tata buses, minibuses and cross-country coaches sat idle...

Jun 27 , 2026

For Consumers in Addis Abeba, Even Thrift Becomes Expensive

For Senayit Bekele, the day's rhythm begins at a vegetable stall. The lunchtime crowd spills through the narrow corridors of Sengatera Building, in Addis Abeba...

Jun 21 , 2026

THE PRICE OF MISTRUSTING THE TAP

Bottled water, once a symbol of convenience and safety for most residents, has become a small but telling measure of economic stress. Inflation and supply shock...

Jun 14 , 2026

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Editorial

The Rent Law Protects No One Well. Time to Rewrite It.

The federal legislative house rushed through one of the country's most contentious housing laws two years ago. Today, the result satisfies almost no one. Tenants still feel insecure, property owners feel constrained, and the law struggles to deliver...

Jun 27 , 2026

The Budget Bill Asks the Most from Citizens with the Least Slack

When Parliament takes up the appropriation bill, federal legislators will receive a document that looks disciplined and speaks the language of reform. However, within the 2.3 trillion Br federal budget proposed for next year, there is a line item marked "Ot...

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Exclusive Interview

Africa's Open Skies Fail If Governments Keep Taxing Travellers Off the Runway

Fortune: The African Union has made SAATM a priority for next year. Are you happy with the way the project is being handled by the AU and AFCAC? Kamil Al-Awadhi: The AU is talking about SAATM as a priority, but I do not think it will work the way it is being handled now. The AU nominated the proj...

Jun 7 , 2026

Britain Wants Ethiopia to Stop Being an Aid Case and Become a Climate Power

Fortune: Given the United Kingdom's long history with Ethiopia, is there a change of view about its role in East Africa's economic and climate future? McLoughlin: We are recalibrating our approach in recognition of Ethiopia's increased importance, particula...

May 3 , 2026

EZEMA'S New Leader on Elections, Youth Apathy and the Constitution

Fortune: Have you voted before? Eyob Mesafint: Yes. I have voted since I was 18. Q: How does the current electoral climate compared with the past? Under the EPRDF, except in 2005, elections were largely nominal and predictable. Opposition leaders expe...

Apr 10 , 2026

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Viewpoint

Protecting Fair Trials Without Putting the Media in the Dark

In courtrooms and press briefings alike, one phrase recurs whenever a sensitive case is raised. The line "It's a matter before the court; I won't discuss it" captures the sub judice rule, a principle meant to protect the judicial process by limiting public discussion of cases still being heard. It also marks one of the most contested frontiers in the country's constitutional law, where the pres...

Jun 28 , 2026

Consumers Mistake a Superfood for Gypsum Nearly Missed a Fortune

In the dynamic agricultural landscape across the country, I came across a story that links a public perception problem to a large economic opportunity. In Addis Abeba, a persistent rumour that "injera" was being adulterated with "jesso," the colloquial term...

Jun 27 , 2026

Her Strength, Silence. Our Responsibility to Ensure Silence No Longer an Option

The world counts the dead in wars. Harder to count are the quiet survivors whose lives are changed forever in ways that never reach a statistic. Gender-based violence was used systematically in conflicts to terrorise, control and humiliate. Survivors of these...

Jun 22 , 2026

My Opinion

Will AI Yield Abundance Without Purpose?

In Kurt Vonnegut's 1952 novel, "Player Piano", machines have automated most industry, leaving only a few engineers and managers to oversee things. Everyone else is fed and housed by the state, with nothing to do. Was Vonnegut prescient? Whether AI will render a large share of the workforce redundant is, of course, unknowable. But we do already know that AI poses challenges in two critical di...

Jun 27 , 2026

The Promise and Peril of AGI

The prospect of artificial general intelligence (AGI), systems capable of performing any human cognitive task, has inspired both hope and anxiety. While AGI could usher in an unprecedented increase in global living standards, it could also sharply reduce deman...

Jun 20 , 2026

The AI Revolution Mirrors the Green Transition

The AI race is already generating forces that are transforming the global economy. That makes it surprisingly similar to the green transition, given the potential of both to upend traditional industries, labour markets, and geopolitical balances. Both call...

Jun 13 , 2026

Featured

Addis Abeba Pours a New Story in Every Cup, Where Tradition Meets Global Influence

Customers settle into a carefully curated space of dark wood, black accents, muted green furnishings, and striking wall art that brightens the cafe's earthy palette. Behind the counter, baristas move with quiet precision, transforming coffee preparation into performance. At a table inside Yoya Coffee's Qera branch, Yedidya Getahun watches as a barista pours hot water over freshly ground coffee in a slow, hypnotic spiral. The brewing method, known as V60, has become one of the defining symbols...

May 31 , 2026

Commentaries

When Arbitration and Litigation Begin to Blur

The new arbitration law seeks to make arbitral awards final. A binding ruling from the Federal Supreme Court's Cassation Division may make that promise harder to keep. The recently enacted law on arbitration and conciliation working procedure makes one of its most important reforms in the area of appeals. It adopts an arbitration-friendly rule. Unless contracting parties expressly agree otherwise, an appeal against an arbitral award is not allowed. The design makes it clear that arbitratio...

Jun 27 , 2026

News Analysis

Built for Microfinance, Tsedey Bank Finds the Cost of Becoming Big

For most of three decades, Tsedey Bank made its living advancing a few thousand Birr at a time to farmers and traders across the Amhara Regional State. In its first full year as a commercial bank, moving upmarket proved costly. For the year ended in June 2025, Tsedey Bank posted a loss of 2.13 billion Br even as the balance sheet expanded, liquidity strengthened, and capital increased. The loss landed in an industry with a history of minting profits. Commercial banks' aggregate assets expa...

Jun 21 , 2026

Delicate Number

1

The amount, in Birr, of the banking system's net claim on the federal government, which skyrocketed by 113.1pc annually. Paradoxically, this occurred at the same time the total outstanding credit of the entire banking system declined by 9.6pc in 2024/25.

Jun 27 , 2026

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

"I would resign."

Girma Seifu, a leading member of the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice party, a.k.a Ezema, issued the high-stakes challenge in an interview with the Amharic weekly Reporter. Girma, who serves as head of the Addis Ababa Beautification & Green Development Bureau, declared he would vacate his post if a single resident evicted under the city's sweeping corridor development project is found without replacement housing.

View From Arada

Banks Cannot Digitise Their Way to Trust. Humans Do.

Earlier this week, I visited a private bank's branch on Fikremariam Aba Techan St., near Megenagna, to activate mobile banking. Hoping to cut down on future trips and handle transactions fro...

Jun 27 , 2026

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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Sunday With Eden

The Fine Print Behind the Before-and-After

Not long ago, a friend proudly showed me before-and-after photos from a nutrition program. The transformation was remarkable. She had shed a significant amount of weight, looked healthier and spoke enthusiastically about how the program had changed her life. Her story is no longer unusual. Over the past few years, Ethiopia has witnessed the rapid rise of nutrition and weight-management companie...

Jun 27 , 2026

Prevention Starts Years Before the First Diagnosis

I often hear people say, “I'm only in my twenties,” or “I'm still in my thirties. I'll think about healthy eating later.” They speak as though health suddenly becomes important at forty or fifty. Meanwhile, they regularly eat processed foods, drink sug...

Jun 20 , 2026

The Cost of a Culture That Doesn't Read

In Ethiopia, one of the most surprising statements heard in everyday conversation is people proudly declaring that they do not like reading books. It is often said casually, even humorously, as if avoiding books is a badge of honour rather than a missed opport...

Jun 13 , 2026

Life Matters

The Hidden Cost of Cheap Snacks Lies Beyond the Price Tag

I bought a bag of chips the other day, tore it open, and found what felt like more air than food. The bag looked the same, but the weight had clearly shrunk. I understand that production costs have risen. Raw materials, transport and packaging all cost more than they once did. If manufacturers need to charge more, I can accept that. What frustrates me is paying the same price for what appears to b...

Jun 27 , 2026

A Cup of Juice, A Long Day, an Uncomfortable Realisation

Most of us love our children fiercely. It is perhaps one of the most universal human experiences. We want to raise them well, teach them discipline, impart knowledge, and give them a better life than the one we had. We aspire to be patient, calm, and nurturing...

Jun 20 , 2026

The Things We Can't Control

Lately, two thoughts have occupied my mind. At first glance, they seem unrelated. One is about comebacks. The other is about how parents view the spirituality of their children. The more I think about them, the more connected they appear. Both reveal how un...

Jun 13 , 2026

Radar

Abay Bank Lists on Ethiopian Securities Exchange as Fifth Entrant

Abay Bank Share Company began trading on the Main Board of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) on June 25, becoming the fifth company to list after registering its ordinary shares with the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA). The stock debuted at 1,800 Br a share, making all 9.66 million ordinary shares immediately tradable. The listing follows a year of strong financial and digital g...

Jun 27 , 2026

Abay Bank Lists on Ethiopian Securities Exchange as Fifth Entrant

Abay Bank Share Company began trading on the Main Board of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) on June 25, becoming the fifth company to list after registering its ordinary shares with the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA). The stock debuted at 1,800 Br a share, making all 9.66 million ordinary shares immediately tradable. The listing follows a year of strong financial and digital g...

Jun 27 , 2026

In Picture

ROLLING RELICS

What looks like a family's careful move from one home to another has instead turned into a rolling paradox on wheels: a modest pickup truck groaning under a mountain of life bundled in a blue tarp, tightly strapped as if the future itself might slip off mid-journey. Perched on top like a crown no one asked for is a full satellite dish, because nothing says “we're relocating” quite like insisti...

Jun 27 , 2026

GREEN ALLIANCE

A handshake sealed in measured confidence sets the tone at the Adwa Memorial Museum, where Solomon Tadele, CEO of AM Business and Investment Group, and Chang Shu, marketing director of Joylong Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd, formalise a partnership that points firmly toward an electric mobility future. Between them, signed documents signal the entry of Minibus EV vehicles and charging infrast...

Jun 27 , 2026