“Kenyan drivers and traders are in problem because Ethiopian banks are refusing to accept Kenyan shilling,” said Mercy Ireri, secretary of Kenyan Transporters Association, during when Kenyan business delegation discussed with Ethiopian counterparts on September 15, 2021, at Radisson Blu hotel, Addis Ababa.

The 100th edition of Ethiopian Business Review (EBR) magazine was colorfully celebrated at Radisson Blu hotel yesterday, on 14th of September 2021. 

The event was attended by Yonathan Tesfaye, Deputy Director-General of the Ethiopian Media Authority, Amare Aregawi, Executive Chairman of the Ethiopian Media Council, senior government officials, partner organizations, and invited guests.

Libya Oil Ethiopia is tapping into side businesses as profit margins from fuel supply and retail in Ethiopia stagnate. With fuel companies discouraged, “we are focusing on partnerships with local banks and international food chains. Our target is to offer full packages with one-stop services at our fuel stations, in addition to fuel,” said Chokri Dridi, General Manager of Libya Oil Ethiopia Limited, which has over 160 petroleum stations across Ethiopia.

Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia Plc, has commenced deploying network infrastructure, importing equipment, and recruiting staff in Addis Ababa, in a bid to launch its telecom services by the first half of 2022. The company will channel USD300 million for annual network infrastructure outlays, out of the USD8.5 billion it promised to invest in Ethiopia over the course of the next ten years.

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) drew four cards with the aim of “controlling galloping inflation by minimizing currency supply into the economy.” Implementation of the new measurements has already put commercial banks and insurance companies in a hot spot and will begin September 11, 2021—the first day of the Ethiopian new year.

The portion of currency outside of banks and in individuals’ hands bulged to ETB127.5 billion during the third quarter ending March 2021, up from ETB109.3 billion in March 2020, according to the latest report from the National Bank of Ethiopia. During the year in between, the figure dramatically dropped to ETB64.6, after most monies entered banks’ vaults ensuing demonetization in September 2020. Birrs are now back in peoples’ pockets.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) are to reconsider the request of foreign investors in Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements to be able to repatriate profits, dividends, and capital without going through formal waiting lists.

The Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority (EMAA) is finalizing a new directive specifying requirements to govern the licensing of private multimodal transport operators.

“We are preparing to commence licensing the first private multimodal operators in the country. There are many logistics companies who have been requesting this,” Ewnetu Taye, Deputy Director at the Ethiopian Logistics Transformation Office (LTO), told EBR.

Ethiopia’s modality for coffee exports has shifted from the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) to vertical marketing. During the 2020/21 Ethiopian fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, over 90Pct of the 248,000 tons of coffee was exported through the new modality which is outside of ECX’s platform—earning the nation a record high income of USD970 million. This value has only been in the range of USD600 to 800 million during the past decade. The price of regular Ethiopian coffee also jumped in the international market from USD2,800 two years ago to the current USD4,000 per ton—a surge of 35Pct. Specialty coffee fetched around USD70 per kilogram. However, USD370 per kilogram was the winning bid of the Cup of Excellence coffee auction.