Issue 141: AI & Addis In Focus

Hello

Last week, we celebrated a major milestone: Shega is now featured on Google News, a news aggregator service developed by Google.

This opens the door for Shega’s coverage to reach a greater audience, providing more exposure for the innovators we cover.

We couldn't have done it without your loyal readership. Thank you for being part of the journey.

Let's dive into this week’s developments.

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The Council of Ministers has approved the nation’s first overarching strategy for applying AI across sectors.

The 49-page policy framework outlines a long-term vision of positioning AI as a core enabler of Ethiopia’s development goals over the next decade. It was crafted with input from the British think tank Tony Blair Institute and the AI for Good Foundation. Read More.

The Addis Abeba Civil Registration and Residence Service Agency (CRRSA) is phasing paper resident IDs. The agency will go entirely digital Starting July 2, 2024. Read more.  

New research conducted by the Center for Rights and Democracy (CARD), a local nonprofit organization, has found that 91 percent of internet users in Addis Ababa spend more than one hour a day online. Read more. 

Bank of Abyssinia (BOA) Customers can now tokenize their physical plastic cards using BOA's Apollo Digital Bank Application and use the tokenized cards for contactless payments. The digitized (tokenized) cards can be used at both ATMs and POS machines. Read more.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has added a new mobile banking fee and starting July 26, 2024, transactions between 10,001 and 50,000 birr will incur a new 3 birr fee. Additionally, transfers exceeding 10,000 birr to Telebirr and other wallets will see a fee increase from 10 birr to 15 birr. Read more.

Africa 118, a digital marketing and information service provider headquartered in Ethiopia, has secured funding from the GSMA Innovation Fund for the third time. Read more.

Ethio Telecom signed a strategic partnership agreement with Addis Abeba University for a project that allows digital grading, reporting, and smart learning capabilities at the Sidist Kilo Campus. Read More.

Venture Meda, a local support program for high-growth e-commerce businesses, has selected seven startups for its second cohort. Read more.

Sevenfold Trading, one of the local startups digitizing traditional peer-to-peer saving groups with its app My Ekub, is expanding its service to include public equb groups. Read More.

Parents can play an active role in shaping their children’s digital future. Huwaa, a gamified platform integrating both online and offline activities, is one such local edtech startup that puts parents at the center. Read More.