Ethiopian Business ReviewThe mission of the United Nations to end extreme poverty is unlikely to be met, largely due to the growth in food insecurity in developing countries, according to the World Poverty Clock, a data lab created by a Vienna-based NGO last year. Based on targets set by the UN almost twenty years ago, about 83 million people should have been lifted out of poverty by now.
Airhelp, a company known for providing legal services to airline passengers who have experienced flight cancellations, delays or overbooking, ranked airlines all over the world in terms of quality of service, on-time arrival performance and claims processing. While the highest scorer in the world was Qatar Airways, South African Airways was the leading airline in Africa. On the other hand, of the 13 lowest scoring carriers on AirHelp’s ranking, six were European, including Easy Jet, Iberia Spain and Wowair.
Worku Behonegn, Country Director, SNV Ethiopia
SNV Ethiopia is responsible for managing the National Biogas Programme. In the first and second phases of the programme, SNV Ethiopia managed to distribute 18,000 bio-digesters over the last 10 yearswhile in the third and scale up phases the organization plans to distribute 36,000 bio-digesters. EBR sat down with Worku Behonegne, country director of SNV Ethiopia to learn more about the Programme.
Over the past two decades, Djibouti has taken steps to open up to foreign investment, and become a regional trans-shipment hub. Its strategic location near the Bab el-Mandeb strait – through which one third of seaborne global trade passes on its way to the Suez Canal – and decades of peace and political stability compared to its immediate neighbors has played in Djibouti’s favor among international investors.
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.
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.
The end of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, which was marked by the return of Emperor Haile Selassie I was celebrated for the 77th time on May 5th (Patriots’ Victory Day) in Arat Kilo, at the heart of Addis Ababa. The celebration commemorated the sacrifice of the patriots who lost their lives during the fight to put an end to Italy’s occupation in 1941, and was held in the presence of veteran fighters, and higher level government officials, including President Mulatu Teshome and Diriba Kuma, mayor of Addis Ababa, as well as the representatives of various international and regional organizations, and city residents. Thousands of Ethiopians and tourists crowded the streets to join in the festivities; and some major roads across the capital were adorned with signs celebrating the occasions.
On April 3, 2018, Members of the Parliament convened to endorse Abiy Ahmed (PhD), as Prime Minister of Ethiopia. This filled the vacuum created by the resignation of former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who announced his decision to step down in mid-February with the hope of ending the unrest and political upheaval that has rocked the country since 2015.
Although travel and tourism competitiveness is underdeveloped in Sub-Saharan Africa, the performance of Eastern African countries has been the most improved among the sub regions of the continent, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum. Neighboring countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda were among Sub-Saharan countries that made it to the top ten list. Mozambique, which rose eight places to 122nd, was the most improved nation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gross written premium in the insurance industry showed a significant rise in the first half of the current fiscal year. The aggregate premium written by all private insurance firms reached five billion birr during this period. The lion’s share of the premium, accounting for 90Ppct of the total, is collected from general insurance lines of businesses such as Motor Insurance. The remaining comes from life insurance.
