Mariamawit Gezahegn – Ethiopian Business Review

Having commenced after the end of World War II, humanitarian aid has been one of the tools used by Western nations to project themselves as the good guy in global interactions. Recently, the West has been slowly moving towards developmental assistance as the criticism against humanitarian aid has been getting tougher. As the diplomatic standoff between Ethiopia and the West worsens, with aid in the middle of the engagement, it is still difficult to pinpoint the role of aid in economic growth. Also at play is the effectiveness of and bad-practice prone implementation by local actors. EBR’s Mariamawit Gezahegn delves into the matter to offer this report.

Economic opportunities accessible to women are primarily tied to financing, and lack of working space to a lesser extent. Studies show that women, though with less access to loans, are better loan performers in terms of repayment and society trickle-down effects. Those that do access microloans are stuck in their success as there are no avenues to transition into larger bank loans due to collateral and guarantor requirements and commercial banks have a loan appraisal systems largely incompatible with the needs of small business owners. EBR’s Mariamawit Gezahegn assesses the current financial environment as well as suggestions that are critical to gender equality and empowering women.

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Since the 2005 Ethiopian national election, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have themselves been victims of a brutal government proclamation that suppressed them from advocating for human, election, and even gender rights. The number of active CSOs has halved over the past fifteen years.
Following the amendment of the restrictive proclamation in 2019, the number of CSOs has currently reached 3,200, an increase of 1,400 new and reregistered organizations.
Nonetheless, the role of CSOs remains a drop in the ocean especially when witnessing the increasing number of conflicts, humanitarian crises, and widening gap between the state and society. Further, only 236 CSOs are registered by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to observe the upcoming national election. EBR’s Mariamawit Gezahegn delves into the trajectory CSOs have endured and their persisting challenges.

Foreign Aid: Holds Itself Back

Women’s Enterprises: Stuck in Success

Unleashing Civil Organizations To Bridge Election Gaps