June 2018 – Page 2 – Ethiopian Business Review

Ethiopia has seen some surprising developments this month, with the recent lifting of the state of emergency during a parliamentary session in early June, and the release of more than 500 people held on corruption and terrorism related charges. Prominent businesspeople and government officials, including Melaku Fenta, former Director General of the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), Nega Gebreegziabher and Fikru Maru (MD), were among those who had corruption-related charges against them dropped and were released from detention.

Nowadays, hookah lounges are common sights across the main streets of the capital. In fact, Addis Ababa is witnessing an explosion of hookah bars, as well as shops that sell glass pipes and smoking wares. As a result, the consumption of hookah, locally known as shisha, is also rapidly expanding in Addis and other towns across the country, exposing people to health related risks. Although the government is trying to reduce the use of hookah by closing lounges that offer the service and passing laws, nothing seems able to arrest their spread, as EBR’s Samson Berhane reports.

Since 2000, Africa has recorded impressive rates of economic growth, owing largely to development assistance and a prolonged commodity boom. While the continent shows great diversity in the socioeconomic trajectories, growth rates have generally masked an underlying lack of structural transformation.

Global growth is accelerating. But before we break out the champagne, we should acknowledge the long-term risks to sustained expansion posed by rising private and public debt.

Market analysts view the uptick in private lending in most emerging and some developed economies as a sign of higher demand and a precursor of faster growth. But, while this is true in the short run, the relentless rise of overall debt remains among the most serious problems burdening the global economy.

Succession planning isn’t as straightforward as just christening one or more workers as surrogates, or enumerating a list of would-be substitutes. Rather, it is a strategic, planned and cognizant effort to cultivate future leaders who can ensure a business’s sustainability. Arguably the most critical decision a given board makes for a company’s future is electing a CEO. It must also be a standing board agenda item and the board should be kept appraised of development plans so that it assures that the organization’s future leadership needs are met. To everyone’s wonder, in Ethiopia’s financial sector most boards know least, or bother less as to how to choose their next CEOs.

Representing Ethiopia in International Football Tournament

Bamlak Tessema is one of six referees in Africa selected by FIFA to officiate the games of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Bamlak will represent his country on the world stage, 48 years after another Ethiopian referee, the late Seyoum Tarekegn, took part in the 1970 tournament in Mexico. The 38 year old international referee has had an interesting journey to reach to this level. EBR’s adjunct writer Abiy Wendifraw sat down with the Bamlak to learn about his career.

People with disabilities have generally been kept on the side lines of societal life in Ethiopia, whether because of misconceptions of their abilities and personalities, or because of discrimination. But now, Destino Dance, an Ethiopian social enterprise born to support underprivileged young people, is taking steps to change popular conceptions of marginalised people by hosting intensive classes and training sessions to draw people into the discipline who would never have had a chance before. On the way, the Company is raising the stock of contemporary dance in Ethiopia and around the world. EBR’s Menna Asrat looks at Destino current and past projects and asks what’s next for them.

Africa’s economy has been off to a good start in 2018, according to the World Economic Outlook published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 17, 2018. The IMF released the national accounts figures of African countries with revisions that indicated more positive momentum. The economic growth of Africa, which was projected to reach 3.1Pct in 2018, was observed after a slow down in recent years, as the report states.

As housing affordability in the capital becomes a hot issue, the twin problems of ‘asset bubbles’ and housing affordability have challenged the minds of policy-makers, experts and the general public. The demand for housing has kept increasing in urban areas like Addis Ababa, whereas the supply of land has remained unchanged, leading to inflated prices. This, in turn, diminishes the affordability of houses for residents. Worryingly, any low and average income earners are unable to construct or buy their own houses due to the skyrocketing lease prices. While experts attribute the problem to the law governing urban land distribution, the government remains firm in its position that there is no shortage, Samson Berhane, EBR’s staff writer, reports.

Companies can use all the five promotion mixes: sales promotion, advertising, personal selling, public relation and direct marketing. In recent years, commercial banks in Ethiopia have been using sales promotions in the form of prize linked saving and remittance lottery programmes to reach out to customers.Although the strategy appears to be effective for some banks, its impact in helping commercial banks unleash their full potential is debatable. EBR’s Samson Berhane reports.

The Prime Minister’s Progress

Hookah Lounges Thrive

Africa’s Must-Do Decade

The Debt Shackles Return

CEOs Succession Planning in the Financial Sector, the Challenge

Bamlak Tessema

Representing Ethiopia in International Football Tournament

Fighting Discrimination Against Disability Through Dance

Top 10 The Fastest growing Economies in Africa in 2018

The Politics of Urban Land Policy, Affordable Housing

Banks Gear up with Sales Promotions