The beginning of the 21th century has shown promising figures regarding the economic growth of the African continent. The World Bank’s 2013 Economic Report on Africa; with the theme- Making the Most of Africa’s Commodities: Industrializing for Growth, Jobs and Economic Transformation- rightly tells the continent’s notable economic performance with its own remarks on limitations of the growth to be translated into jobs and social development.
Africa is at the threshold of a new era and a fitting vision set to help Africa navigate through the 21st century-Vision 2063 is in the offing.
The seeds for the 50 year plan to create a prosperous and peaceful Africa were planted during the 6th Annual Meeting of the Ministers of Economy, Finance and Economic Development meeting in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, in March 2013. This plan also involved the African Development Bank and Economic Commission for Africa.
Even with so many promising stories about Africa, it should come as no surprise to hear one about underachievement on the macro level. Africa still drags its feet when competing with the rest of the world. A report recently released by the World Economic Forum entitled- Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation- evaluated world economies’ travel and tourism competitiveness and revealed that many African countries are lagging behind, as always.
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has extended office hours effective April 1, 2013, Tefera Seyfu, corporate communication manager at the bank told EBR. According to the new extended business hour schedule, customers can get service from 8am to 7 pm from Monday through Saturday. The bank normally closes at 5 pm.
“This is one way of getting closer to our vision of becoming a World Class Commercial Bank by 2025,” Tefera said.
Africa Vacation Club Ethiopia (AVCE), one of the well known time share provider in Ethiopia, which was established in 2004, will appear before court on April 10, 2013, to defend the charges brought on it by 72 members, Yemisrach Hailu, an organizer of the disenfranchised members, told EBR. The charge is regarding the club’s mistreatment of its members, according to the source.
Metro PLC., the sole importer of LG- Life is Good- electronics in Ethiopia announced that it will import five more Care and Delight Buses at a cost of Br 10 million on an event, on which it launched what it called the first-in-Africa Care and Delight Bus Service on March 27, 2013. Metro will receive the buses in a year, Abdulhamid Abubaker, general manager of the company said.
Ethiopia is facing a growing number of cyber attacks in recent months, according to Information Network Security Agency (INSA).
INSA, which is one of the several wings of the national defense forces, is mandated to protect the cyber sphere of the nation. The agency states that it has been deterring cyber attacks aimed at different interests of the nation since its establishment in 2006/07.
The BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa- have agreed to establish a new development bank on their 6th summit staged in Durban, South Africa, on March 27, 2013. There are speculations that 50 billion dollar will be injected in to the new bank as an initial capital. The five countries will contribute equal amount. Following this announcement economists around the world have been contemplating what it will mean to the global order.
“This is the response of Jupiter Trading to the growing concern of environmental issues” said Melaku Bisrat, managing partner and co founder of Jupiter Trading on an eco friendly paper launching event that was held at Jupiter International Hotel on March 26, 2013. Jupitor partnered with Trident Group and Alia Mohammed Trading- Indian Companies based in Dubai to launch what they called the first eco friendly copier paper in Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Business Review