Zemedeneh Negatu is currently Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, a US-based firm engaged in investment banking and private equity financing in sub-Sahara Africa, including Ethiopia. He is also one of the promoters of the under-establishment Selam Bank which intends to disburse ETB200 billion as mortgage loans to finance 100,000 housing units in its first five years of operations. EBR sat down with Zemedeneh to discuss the endeavors of Selam Bank and the challenges it expects to face.
Vera Songwe is the UN Under-Secretary-General and 9th Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), becoming the first woman to lead the institution in its 60-year history. Many portray her as a reliable ally and pathfinder as Africa aspires an economic union. Capable and hardworking, she is navigating uncharted territory while trying to mold a strong economy out of Africa’s weak institutions and imperfect politics. She is also going the extra mile in convincing western nations to give pandemic relief.
The Cameroonian holds a PhD in mathematical economics from the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics, a master of arts in law and economics, and a diploma of advanced studies in economic science and politics from Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. She also holds a B.A. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan. Prior to ECA, she held a number of senior leadership roles with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.
Missing out on rain is equivalent to relinquishing the harvesting of crops in Ethiopia’s rain-based agricultural system. As Ethiopia’s chief cultivation season arrives alongside the major rainy season, over 2 million farmers have abandoned their farms to find shelter in safer areas. Ethiopia’s internally displaced population is still out of control three years after the challenge started rising.
But the recent influx of dislodged people in high agricultural corridors including northern Shewa, Wello, western Oromia, Benishangul, and of course, Tigray comes at the crucial time of Ethiopia’s major farming season. As farmers have not prepared the land for the tilling period that ends in June, the upcoming Meher harvest season is forecasted to experience substantial setbacks. The uncultivated lands will result not only in production reductions, but will also place its society in a cyclical fight against poverty. Humanitarian assistance for farmers is stressing the nation’s coffers. Also, as farmers supply 30Pct of their production to markets, the reduction will also contribute to food inflation. EBR’s Mersha Tiruneh assessed the disruption which conflict and farmers’ displacement are pouring onto agriculture and the economy at large.
Nejib Ababiya, Founder and Chairman of Rift Geothermal, is currently developing an initial 300 MGW power plant with TMGO and Corbetti in Ethiopia. With his over 30 years of leadership experience especially in the mining and energy sectors, he founded Allana Potash, a company engaged in potash production, which he later sold to Israel Chemical, one of the largest potash and specialty chemical companies in the world. Nejib, born in Jimma, Ethiopia and migrated to Canada in 1979, has also founded other companies engaged in mining and energy. His current project with the company TRI is due to start construction of its gold mine in northern Ethiopia. Ashenafi Endale of EBR spent time with the serial entrepreneur to gain insights.
The urban poor in Ethiopia are being hit by the invisible hammer that’s getting larger in size day by day. It is hard to recall a time where inflation was so prevalent and unrelenting. Even salaried workers—most employed by the government—are falling below internationally accepted thresholds of poverty. Former middle-class residents are now slipping into the low-income bracket and are utilizing consumer association shops to access basic commodities at cheaper prices that were previously destined for the poor. Further down, those with low incomes are falling into the ‘poor of the poor’ level, which can only be handled through direct support including the SafetyNet program. The administration is exerting efforts to help with the pain, but the underlying causes are yet to be tackled. Subsidies and direct payments to urbanites can only go so far as the regime’s pockets are getting shallower. EBR takes a close look at the toll inflation is inflicting upon urban residents and possible coping mechanisms both structurally and temporarily.
Abebe Bikila is a household name in Japan. Ethiopians have been preparing heavily to maintain Abebe’s legacy sixty years on. Of course, Ethiopians’ winning spirit is not a rare commodity at any athletics tournament. Yet, the delaying of the Tokyo Olympics by a year owing to COVID-19 pressures, financial strains, as well as personalized bickering and conflict amongst sport officials have affected preparations for the upcoming tournament and given discomfort to athletes. EBR’s Abiy Wendifraw delves in.
One of the most highly overlooked, but increasingly concerning, social crisis is the mental illness of Ethiopian migrants. Especially returnees from Gulf nations fall victim to the illness. After enduring aggressive and abusive employers in these oil-rich countries, the illegality and lower educational preparations of the young migrants is taking a toll on their mental health. Ensuing deportation or fleeing, returnees are too embarrassed to return emptyhanded to their families, further adding to their mental woes.
Despite generating close to a billion dollars in remittances, the Ethiopian government is unable to provide adequate treatment for returnees as well as secure their safe and fair employment status. EBR’s Samira Suleiman delves into the ordeal Ethiopian migrants face to win a dinar in a foreign, hostile culture as well as upon their return to unwelcoming hands.
Pursuing one’s artistic call is a luxury even for healthy people with decent jobs, let alone for those with disabilities. That is why all great art communities flourish when civilizations peak and citizens have secured their basic needs. When these basic needs are fulfilled, human beings tend to pursue higher values in life.
However, there are people with disabilities defying this fact. Not only are they pursuing art, but they are also using it to heal others. EBR’s Lidya Yohannes has explored the growing power of art on healing people with disabilities and their successes in the face of challenges and obstacles.
The Ethiopian economy has been suffering from external debt distress for the past few years as has been observed in many developing countries. In the poorest countries, the debt distress arrived before COVID-19 as confirmed by the World Bank International Debt Statistics of 2021. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries demanded debt restructuring, motivating the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to call for the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), endorsed in April 2020. This initiative has benefited many countries in sub-Sahara Africa including Ethiopia, Kenya, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Chad, and Ghana, as they were eligible to borrow from the International Development Association (IDA).
The need to take necessary precautions to avoid regret.
Since the unveiling of the administration’s Homegrown Economic Reform Plan and restart of the accession process with the World Trade Organization (WTO), talks of economic liberalization have been heating up in Ethiopia. Indeed, the liberalization process of the telecom sector is well underway and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) himself has indicated that the hitherto closed financial sector will be next in line. Speeding up of WTO accession is one of the plans in the plan. The government’s aspirations of reforming the economy and WTO accession may imply that the government will inevitably open up the financial sector in the near future, with the ongoing deregulations set as good launching pads.
Ashenafi Endale
Mersha Tiruneh
Abiy Wendifraw
Samira Suleiman
Lidya Yohannes
Abdulmenan Mohammed Hamza (PhD)
Ashenafi Assefa