Issue 153: Triumph & Controversy

Hello

Ethiopia celebrated its New Year last week, and so did our coverage. Many of our stories from the past week were filled with holiday cheer and delightful tales.

However, the week also saw important news stories breaking ground. So, grab a cup of buna and settle in for a roundup of stories from the first week of 2017.

The Shega Team wishes you a prosperous and productive year!

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

In a digital leap towards a unified social security system, Ethiopia's Information Network Security Agency (INSA) has partnered with the Private Organizations Employees Social Security Agency and Public Servants Social Security Administration to establish a comprehensive, nationwide social security management system. Read more. 

A youth-focused savings and credit cooperative (SACCO), supported by a $60 million USAID grant under the Kefeta Integrated Youth Activity, has distributed nearly 50 million birr in loans. Read more.

Addis Ababa City Administration Education Bureau has introduced a directive to implement game-based teaching methods in pre-primary schools. The directive aims to ensure consistent implementation of game-based teaching disciplines in all public and private pre-primary education schools. Read more.

A centuries-old Ethiopian holiday tradition of tossing lemons (Lomii in Amharic), onto romantic prospects is getting a 21st-century reboot with the ‘Lomii’ dating app. Read more.

Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia has expanded its network in the Chiro cluster, now covering 32 cities and 114 sites across Eastern and Western Hararge. The company will begin offering full coverage of eastern Ethiopia by the end of next month. Read more. 

Mahder Admasu was in the third trimester of her pregnancy when the holiday season rolled around 12 years ago. Juggling classes for a graduate’s degree, a baby on the way, and the hunt for specific ingredients sparked an idea for a business. Read more.  

Beemi brings a fresh twist to Ethiopia’s live-streaming scene. By integrating games into the live stream, the platform aims to make live streaming an experience that’s fun, engaging, and inclusive for both streamers and viewers. Read more. 

A two-edged sword: the impact of public debt on economic growth—the case of Ethiopia. A paper that investigates the dynamic effects of public debt on economic growth in Ethiopia using annual data from 1980 to 2021. Read more.