NBE unsuspended Cashgo & Mama’s Pay Remittance Apps

NBE unsuspended Cashgo & Mama’s Pay Remittance Apps Digital remittance applications that have been suspended for almost 3 months by order of the National Bank are about to be launched. Apps Cashgo and Mama Pay, which are operated by the Bank of Abyssinia, have been suspended due to non-compliance. “Cashgo” is produced by Solgett, and Mama Pays is produced by Bell Cash. Sources close to the matter told ENA that the bank’s Directorate of Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Reserve Management has expressed interest in issuing remittance licenses to the bank or its technology suppliers. One of the reasons for the controversy is the lack of home-made digital relay services. According to the rules of the National Bank of Ethiopia, companies can provide technology to banks, but no further authorization is required. According to sources, the matter could not be resolved through discussions with National Bank officials and the matter was referred to the Prime Minister’s Office for a decision. Finally, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) board decided last weekend to allow the applications to be launched, and on Monday, it learned that a letter had been written to the Bank of Abyssinia. The decision will allow not only Abyssinia Bank, but also the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and other banks to provide similar services. Both apps want to expand their services in collaboration with other banks. According to the information she received on the eve, Kashgo will make various improvements to the app in the coming days. Cashgo has been in service for 6 months and can be delivered up to $ 50,000 a day without charge. At the same time, Tower Pay was charged up to $ 200,000 a month and charged $ 1 for any remittances. Ethiopia alone earns more than $ 4 billion annually. Tags abyssinia bank national bank of ethiopia

Ethiopian Airlines Increases Presence in India, Expands Cargo Fleet

Ethiopian Airlines Increases Presence in India, Expands Cargo Fleet On July 2, Ethiopian Airlines will commence twice-weekly flight operations to Chennai, India — which will join the vast Ethiopian network as the fourth destination in India after New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, India. Ethiopian started its service to India with a debut flight to New Delhi in 1966 — just 20 years after the airline was founded. Ethiopian pioneered the air transport linkage between Africa and India. Recently, Ethiopia marked its 50th anniversary of uninterrupted service to Mumbai — the commercial capital of India. Flights to Chennai will fly a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the Addis Ababa-Chennai, India route. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said, “I am excited that we are getting closer to our customers with our signature service and global connectivity options. We have been connecting Asia and Africa for 55 years now facilitating trade between the two continents. The addition of Chennai as a fourth passenger destination in India is a testimony of our resilience and unwavering commitment to serving our customers in India and the continent at large. We will continue to serve India with enhanced frequency and more destinations in the future. “ Chennai, India is a modern cosmopolitan city and the most prominent cultural, economic and educational center of South India. Ethiopia has been serving India without any interruption even during the pandemic, cementing the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries. In addition to the opening of a new route, Ethiopian Airlines’ flight frequency to the cities of Mumbai and New Delhi will increase to double daily and ten weekly flights, respectively,  from July 2022. India is one of Ethiopian Airlines’ key destinations in the Asian continent and Ethiopian currently flies to three passenger and five cargo destinations with its enhanced services and modern fleet. The Airline’s Cargo Market Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines last week announced that the East African carrier is expanding its all-Boeing freighter fleet with an order for five 777 Freighters as the airline eyes opportunities in a buoyant cargo market. The order was previously an unidentified order on Boeing’s orders and deliveries sheet. Disclosing the order on Wednesday, Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said that “The addition of these five B777 Freighters into our cargo fleet will enable us to meet the growing demand in our cargo operation. While cementing our partnership with the Boeing Company with new orders, the growth of our freighter fleet takes the capacity and efficiency of our shipping service to the next level. We always strive to serve our customers with the latest technology aircraft the aviation industry could offer. Our Africa’s largest cargo terminal coupled with fuel-efficient freighters and well-trained cargo handling professionals will enable our customers to get the best quality shipment service. Customers can rely on Ethiopian for wide-ranging cargo services across five continents.” The airline operates a fleet of nine 777 Freighters, utilizing the model’s range of 4,970 nautical miles or 9,200 km and a maximum structural payload of 107 tonnes or 235,900 lbs to connect Africa with 66 dedicated cargo centers throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. “We value the trust that Ethiopian Airlines places in the 777 Freighter to support their cargo ambitions which will provide them with increased capability and flexibility to their operations,” Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing, said. “Additional 777 Freighters will enable Ethiopian to capitalize on near-term cargo demand while positioning the airline for further expansion in the future.” In early March 2022, Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the carrier’s intent to purchase five 777-8 Freighters. The carrier also operates three 737-800 converted freighters, as well as a combined passenger fleet of more than 80 jets, including Boeing 737s, Boeing 767s, Boeing 777s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Tags ethiopian airlines ethiopian airlines china

Ethiopia to receive $200 million financial assistance from World Bank: official

Ethiopia to receive $200 million financial assistance from World Bank: official Ethiopia is set to receive 200 million U.S. dollars in financial assistance from the World Bank, an Ethiopian official said Wednesday. “The funds will be used to build skilled manpower and boost the capacity of state-owned technical and vocational training institutes,” Ethiopian Minister of Labor and Skills Development Muferiat Kamil said in a Facebook post. Kamil said she held discussions with World Bank officials on ways to create high-quality job opportunities for Ethiopians. Both sides also held discussions relating to broad strategic ideas. The Ethiopian government and the World Bank in May signed a financing agreement amounting to 300 million U.S. dollars in support of the reconstruction and recovery of conflict-affected areas of Ethiopia. The 300 million U.S. dollars financing accord, which was made in the form of a grant, will be used to finance activities designed to support communities in conflict-affected areas to reaccess basic services of education, health and water supply. The projects will be implemented in selected districts of Ethiopia’s conflict-affected Amhara, Afar, Tigray, Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz regional states. Tags ethiopian news World Bank

Ethiopian to connect Washington with Lomé, Togo

Ethiopian to connect Washington with Lomé, Togo Ethiopian Airlines has announced it will commence thrice-weekly passenger service to Washington Dulles via Lomé, Togo as of today, June 1, 2022. The new flight increases the frequency of Ethiopian Airlines’ flights to Washington DC to 10 from the existing seven weekly flights it operates via Dublin. The new flight is operated with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft as per the below schedule. Currently, Ethiopian is operating flights to Chicago and two airports in New York in addition to its services to Washington DC. Tags ethiopia airlines ethiopia daily news ethiopia today news ethiopian news lome togo washington dc

Coca-Cola Beverages Inaugurates a 100 million USD bottling plant at Sebeta

Coca-Cola Beverages Inaugurates a 100 million USD bottling plant at Sebeta Sebeta, Ethiopia, May 31 – A new US$100 million Coca-Cola bottling plant at Sebeta in Ethiopia is set to unlock export opportunities, increase local production and ease foreign exchange constraints as it adds 500 employees to the workforce of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in the country. The inauguration of the Sebeta Dima Coca-Cola factory was attended by government representatives, accompanied by CCBA Ethiopia Managing Director Daryl Wilson, CCBA CEO Jacques Vermeulen and Africa President for The Coca-Cola Company Bruno Pietracci. Completion of the bottling plant brings CCBA’s production capacity in Ethiopia to more than 100 million cases a year and will enable the company to integrate the production of inputs such as preforms, closures and other materials, as well as the local production of new products such as Minute Maid Juice, reducing imports and adding to national GDP. The production of these input materials, besides meeting CCBA’s own demand, is planned for the export market to generate foreign exchange and supply the local market to help resolve shortages in the sector. Wilson said the opening of the new plant in Sebeta was another proud milestone in CCBA’s growth in the country and the investment demonstrates confidence in the Ethiopian economy. “The first Coca-Cola bottle was manufactured in 1959 in Addis Ababa in the Abinet Area. “Since then, Coca-Cola has built a very strong local business in Ethiopia over more than six decades of investment, creating shared opportunities for communities and employees as it continues to grow. “We are proud to work with thousands of small businesses throughout the country to serve the millions of Ethiopians who choose to enjoy our products each day. “We hire locally, produce and distribute our products locally and are increasingly sourcing locally through local farmers, suppliers, and retailers,” Wilson said. Construction of the Sebeta plant began in 2019, following the announcement of a $300 million investment over five years to expand CCBA’s operations in Ethiopia. A sixth plant is planned at Hawassa. This commitment was reaffirmed when The Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO, James Quincey, visited Ethiopia in 2020, accompanied by Vermeulen. “CCBA is a proud industry leader in developing increasingly sustainable ways to produce, distribute and sell our products,” said Vermeulen. “We aim to create greater shared opportunity for the business and our host communities across the value chain. This is about more than just money, it’s about a better future for people and their communities everywhere on the African continent,” Vermeulen said. “Through our investments in Ethiopia, we have grown direct employment opportunities from 1,000 in 2012 to over 3,500 in 2022, while more than 70,000 people are beneficiaries of our value chain.” In line with its strong principle of doing business the right way, CCBA has constructed a school at a total cost of $236,000 in Sebeta following consultations with the community to understand their needs. This follows the building of two state-of-the-art school blocks at Shimbit Elementary School near CCBA’s plant in Bahir Dar, benefitting 1,600 students at a total cost of $220,000. CCBA has also set up 17 polyethylene phthalate (PET) collection centers and trained and empowered more than 14,000 women PET collectors in the country, as well as launching 20 million-birr women and youth economic inclusion project in partnership with the Job Creation Commission of Ethiopia. “Our investment in the Sebeta Dima Coca-Cola Factory confirms that we are here for the long haul, and we look forward to many more years of refreshing Ethiopia every day and making this country a better place for all,” said Vermeulen. Pietracci said The Coca-Cola Company believes in Africa’s strong potential as the next growth engine of the global economy. “Africa has a growing and rapidly urbanizing population who is brand conscious, economically active, highly connected, and innovative and will drive the continent’s dynamic growth. “Over the past 90 years in Africa, we have built a pervasive and very strong local business, creating shared opportunity in every country on the continent. This has been one of our greatest strengths and we will continue playing a significant role in Africa,” Pietracci said. About CCBSA CCBA is the 8th largest Coca-Cola bottling partner in the world by revenue, and the largest on the continent. It accounts for over 40% of all Coca-Cola products sold in Africa by volume. With over 17,000 employees in Africa, CCBA services 600 000 customers with a host of international and local brands. The group was formed in July 2016 after the successful combination of the southern and east Africa bottling operations of the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages businesses of The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller plc, and Gutsche Family Investments. CCBA shareholders are currently: The Coca-Cola Company 66.5% and Gutsche Family Investments 33.5%. CCBA operates in 14 countries, including its six key markets of South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, and Namibia, as well as Tanzania, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, the islands of Comoros and Mayotte, Eswatini, and Lesotho. Tags Coca Cola ethiopia news today ethiopian news Sebeta

CBE lost 1 billion birr due to fraud

CBE lost 1 billion birr due to fraud According to a new survey conducted by the Ministry of Justice, banks have lost 1.8 billion birr due to fraud in the last four years. The results of the new study were unveiled during an event now taking place at the Sheraton Addis Hotel. It disclosed that 50.7 percent of the looting took place at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.  Following, Abyssinia Bank (328.9 million birr), Oromia Bank (161.8 million birr) and Wegagen Bank (155.6 million birr) were the most affected. “Such operations are causing havoc on the financial business,” Fekadu Tsega, the state minister of Justice, warned.

Brain drain in Sub Saharan Africa

Brain drain in Sub Saharan Africa By Bernard Laurendeau, Managing Partner at Laurendeau & Associates Brain drain in Sub Saharan Africa Brain Drain is a severe problem in low- and middle-income countries and particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa. In its 2016 World Economic Outlook[1], the IMF noted that the “outflow of skilled labor and young people seeking better educational opportunities outside the continent’s borders will continue rising, and the trend is worrying”. Impact of brain drain: gap in expertise The impact of brain drain is significant on emerging countries economies. For a country like Ethiopia, the impact can be measured in actual numbers, on GDP and job creation. In the public sector, deals are not optimally negotiated with multinationals- looking to grab opportunities that the opening of certain markets bring like that of telco- directly impacting the government coffers. Policies remain frozen in time making it difficult to attract investors, and hence putting a brake on job creation. In the private sector, diversity and maturity of products offered by banks remains low, decreasing the volume of transactions and overall money velocity in the country. Value chains are inefficient, not integrated, leading to high overhead and high prices for consumers. Startups seldom turn into scaleups as they have a hard time attracting talent that can unleash their power, making it difficult to lead to market-creating innovations[2] in economies that so badly need it. Therefore, expertise in all sectors is crucial for a country like Ethiopia to successfully transition to a middle-income country. Expert secondments sponsored by international development institutions are necessary, with the caveat that they should be temporary otherwise they create an artificial secondary talent market, but not sufficient. Emerging economies require expertise at scale. Reversing the brain drain: a digital brain gain Working remotely was trending before covid-19 burst into our lives. But if there is one positive aspect that the pandemic brought about, it is that lesson that remote work is here to stay. So why not leverage this trend to reverse the brain drain? In January every year, most Ethiopians living abroad come back to Ethiopia and, between visits to family members and touristic escapades, they explore ways to professionally engage with their home country. But after the January honeymoon, romance fizzles in February and disappears by March. Remote engagement can ensure that the romance sustains in February and remains strong until December. But remote work is not enough for the romance to sustain. Most of these engagements are usually built on a foundation of patriotism. Unfortunately, for many, patriotism should be the reason one should feel obliged to offer their expertise on a pro bono basis. Pro bono is not sustainable and usually leads to ill-defined and blurry engagements. Hence, the second ingredient necessary for that romance to sustain is: compensation. Indeed, experts need to be compensated for their brain capital. Filling the expertise gap through a curated expert network There are many experts and very highly skilled professionals who want to engage with their home country regularly. This expertise needs to be curated and linked strategically with clients who need it, and at the right time. A country like Ethiopia is growing rapidly, albeit some challenges. Liberalization of many sectors is expected. Hence, the country needs now more than ever subject-matter expertise in many fields (e.g., private equity, corporate restructuring, international arbitration, digital transformation, investment banking, fund management, talent development, cybersecurity, PR, smart city etc.) and in all verticals (e.g., Agriculture, Health, Medical Devices, Tech, FMCG, Aviation, Telecom, Transportation, etc.). Curated expert networks can reverse the brain drain, ensure a brain gain through digital means, while delivering expertise at scale to emerging economies growing rapidly. [1] International Monetary Fund, October 2016, World Economic Outlook [2] Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo & Karen Dillon, April 2019, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty

From organic waste to high-end tech, how European interest is shifting to Africa’s biogas sector

From organic waste to high-end tech, how European interest is shifting to Africa’s biogas sector Given the national interest, the critical implementation of the DiBiCoo project is to link the leading European biogas producers to the emerging biogas sector in developing countries. Home to the largest cattle population in Africa, with the largest segment of the people located in rural areas, considered the primary energy consumer, Ethiopia is no stranger to renewable energy. Renewable energy like biogas could go back into the account in 1957, but only a tiny portion of the potential is harnessed today. And finding solutions for enormously increasing energy demand is becoming an imperative of our age. In Ethiopia, biogas development mainly comes from small-scale (household) initiatives. The government largely dominates biogas development. Most of the share in biogas-related investments is government-led, while private sector involvement in the biogas market has been minimal. Biogas project implementation is dominated by public-led investments and is far less funded by the private sector. This has, to some extent, attenuated the popularity and the advancement of existing biogas technologies. Three years ago, The Digital Global Biogas Cooperation (DiBiCoo) project was designed with an initial budget of 2.9 million Euros to preclude the factors preventing the biogas sector from enhancing and altering as a substitution for energy supply. It is an effort to link European technology providers with emerging and developing markets for new investment opportunities and knowledge transfer. It is a cooperation project between biogas technology exporting and importing countries, with the overall objective to support the European biogas/biomethane industry by preparing markets to import sustainable biogas/biomethane technologies from Europe to developing emerging countries. Several factors have converged, making international organizations significant in developing countries’ providing attractive options to Ethiopia’s biogas sectors. For one, Ethiopia is receiving funds from several international organizations as a loan or in-kind donations and cash towards promoting renewable energy technologies in rural communities in Ethiopia. Thus, these international organizations have great potential in financing biogas projects in developing countries. One of Ethiopia’s best options for future financing for biogas projects is the Development Bank of Ethiopia. The DBE offers three funding possibilities: renewable energy finance, lease finance, and project finance. Considering the amount of money required for large-scale biogas projects, the project finance option could be the preferred solution. Ethiopia was selected as a potential future market for the biogas sector. The global energy demand is growing and is expected to continue to grow in the coming decades with the projected growth of the population. With the expansion of energy-dissipative economic activities, Ethiopia also seeks to address the ever-growing energy needs, which makes a case for renewables increasingly bright. In the two-year collaboration through DiBiCoo, several biogas stakeholders from Ethiopia have obtained the capacity building; stakeholders from Ethiopia also visited biogas plants in Germany and South Africa, attended 11 web seminars, and three days of biogas business model training, and capacity building through training delivered by top biogas experts from all over the world. As well as profoundly supporting one demo case up to the pre-feasibility study and three follower cases from Ethiopia, several technical reports have also been published related to Ethiopian and other partner countries’ biogas sector experience. The project partners include stakeholders such as the Ethiopian Rural Energy Development and Promotion Center (EREDPC), Ministry of water, irrigation and energy (MOWIE), Lake Tana and Other Water bodies Protection and Development Agency, GIZ Ethiopia, etc. The stakeholders are active – from biogas project developers in the country to various other originations and governmental institutions attending workshops and webinars and going on virtual and physical study tours of biogas plants in other countries. The impact of the project has geared positive outcomes as the biogas stakeholder in Ethiopia learns in detail on how to use biogas for other applications other than cooking. Several links have been created with international biogas companies, biogas associations, and experts from Germany, Austria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Indonesia, Ghana, and Argentina. Thus, using those companies and experts for future biogas related activities in Ethiopia. In line with that assessment, the project altered its significant impact towards encouraging the transfer of knowledge and overall growth of the sector. The project enhancing biogas is a key example. The project assists the sector in several aspects especially in capacity building as the training is delivered by top biogas experts from all over the world. Considering the biogas sector in Africa, South Africa’s biogas sector is more developed. One of the partners for this project is Germany, which is the world’s leading biogas producer. The project is essential to the future of the biogas sector in developing countries, providing an environmentally sustainable alternative to the more conventional use of organic waste to produce biogas and a waste management option. It is an environmentally friendly solution and helps mitigate methane emissions that would have otherwise escaped from landfills. Thus, the project helps in avoiding environmental pollution that would have otherwise run from landfills and creates environmental pollution. The project will be finalized in the coming months; intending to optimize the biogas sector, the task set for disseminating the technology, investment opportunities, and adequate knowledge transfer in the short run are the areas where the DiBiCoo project focuses. Visit: https://dibicoo.org/  https://biogasplatform.eu/ Tags Biogas in Ethiopia Development Bank of Ethiopia DiBiCoo EREDPC GIZ Ethiopia MOWIE

FSD Ethiopia appoints Admassu Tadesse as Chairman

FSD Ethiopia appoints Admassu Tadesse as Chairman Press Release FSD Ethiopia is pleased to announce esteemed international banker and executive business leader Admassu Tadesse as Chairman of our Non-executive Board of Directors. Mr. Tadesse brings his extensive experience across Africa and internationally to our organization. As the President Emeritus and Group MD of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Group, Mr. Tadesse has spearheaded critical reforms that have transformed strategic development initiatives. In 2019, he was recognized as African Banker of the Year, and TDB Group was named African Bank of the Year in 2020. We are honored to welcome Mr. Tadesse and look forward to benefiting from his expertise in African finance markets, global partnership, and development. Tags admassu tadesse ethiopian news