In November 2011, the British Medical Journal published a research article entitled “The financial cost of doctors emigrating from sub-Saharan Africa: human capital analysis”. The research, which was conducted by a group of medical scientists under the leadership of Edward J. Mills (Prof.), chair of global health at the University of Ottawa, Canada, concluded that Sub-Saharan Africa has lost USD2 billion yearly because of the brain drain related to medical professionals.
In one of Maritu Legesse’s popular songs there is a lyric that reads “Wesheten new enji endiaw segedereder, enes lagere lij wuha shiche lider”. which can losely be translated as “I’ve been hiding my feelings; but [for you], I would even [waste/spend my time] selling water.” Asserting that she is willing even to sell water, which is too cheap to take to a market, to show what she would do for her loved one. Traditionally, selling water which was even as mentioned in the song, unimaginable, at least not in the Ethiopian context. Now, things have changed, and water has become by far, one of the most sellable products in the country.
According to a study done by Wiki Wealth Capital, an American based Management institute, financial leverage, economics of scale and new services and technologies among others are the strengths and opportunities of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), while high staff turnover along with work inefficiencies and other macroeconomic issues are identified as its weaknesses and threats.
Located on the eastern edge of the East African rift valley, 515km away from the capital and 48km north west of Harar, Dire Dawa lies in the intersection of roads from Addis Ababa, Harar and Djibouti. For long a caravan center, Dire Dawa is an accidental city, developed as the chief outlet for Harar after 1904, when it became the terminus of the railroad from the port of Djibouti.
For the last twelve years in a raw, Mustafa Siraj, 39, a father of three has used fertilizers on his three hectares of farming land in order to increase the production of maize, a crop that he frequently harvests.
Seeing how the newly constructed eight lane road on Africa Avenue is swamped with cars at rush hours gives an indication as to what is happening in the city’s car market. Every day more than 40,000 cars of different models and brands pass through this corridor alone. Yet this is not unique to this specific street. Every major road in the city is seen crowded with cars almost all the time. As the number of urbanites who are joining the ranks of the middle class is increasing so do the number of cars.
It has been widely recognized that the Ethiopian international trade has been in trouble for so long despite the growth it has been registering. The time consuming and costly customs clearance process, the weak and poorly coordinated logistics and transport services and the underdeveloped warehouse and inspection mechanism among others have been obstructing the performance of the sector.
Industry Zones, One at a Time Featured
Worku Girma spent nearly two years looking, unsuccessfully, for work after graduating in Law from Wollega University, one of the recently established higher institutions in the country. Back then, he would probably never have imagined that he would be a designer at a shoe factory for a Chinese company. Yet, that was what happened after he completed three weeks of training the company gives for new employees. He currently works for Huajian International Shoe City, which is one of the companies nested in the Eastern Industrial Zone.
If you go to Mesalemiya, near Africa’s largest open air market Merkato, you likely find yourself dodging cars, pedestrians, donkeys and carts struggling to reach their destinations. And adjacent to this world where traders and buyers barter loudly all day and grain is unloaded from dusk till dawn; you will also come upon the entrance gate for Ethiopia’s only public mental hospital, Amanuel Specialized Hospital.
Almost 100 years before Columbus discovered America, a Chinese explorer named Zheng He (also known as Cheng Ho) led seven expeditions from China all the way to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. His ships are said to dwarf anything sailed by later European explorers and continue to amaze today. In all, it is estimated that he had between 48 to 317 ships with a crew of over 28,000 men. During each of Zheng’s voyages, he brought back diplomats from other countries or encouraged ambassadors to go to the capital Nanjing on their own, according to historical records.
