Issue 144: Currency Swaps & Cooperatives

Hello

This week’s edition explores a range of topics, from the massive currency swap deal to the latest on emerging startups and insights into the ride-hailing sector.

If you are here because someone forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here to get future newsletters.

Last week, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) signed a currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of the UAE. The central banks also agreed to interlink their instant payment systems, national card switches, and messaging systems, adhering to each country's regulatory requirements.

Additionally, they will cooperate in the areas of financial technology and central bank digital currencies. Read More.

Dagmawi Demeke, Digital Marketing Manager at Shega Brand Studio, shares his thoughts on how driver-centric approaches are helping startups and new entrants earn market share in the competitive ride-hailing sector. Read more.

The Ethiopian Agricultural Institute is developing a Digital Market Linkage Platform at a cost of 63 million birr. This initiative aims to create digital platforms that connect traders directly with cooperatives for bulk purchases of agricultural products Read more. 

eQub, a fintech startup aiming to digitize equb (peer-to-peer saving groups), and HuluCares, a startup focused on providing community-based Idir insurance, have been selected for the inaugural Timbuktoo Fintech Startup Accelerator Program. Read more.

For the first time in over a decade, state-owned Ethio Telecom is applying for a loan from an American financier. This would mark the company's first foreign loan since 2013 when it secured a $1.6 billion contract with China’s Huawei and ZTE Corporation to expand mobile services nationwide. Read More.

Negat Events, a platform dedicated to keeping users updated with the latest events, is entering the market with a broad approach, enlisting religious events, lectures, and motivational speech gatherings. Read more.