Issue 159: Money Market & A Sigh of Relief

Hello

In the past week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addressed Parliament responding to questions from MPs. During the session, he unveiled Ethiopia’s plan to build Africa’s largest airport, which is expected to accommodate nearly 130 million passengers annually.

In other news, following its entry into the Ethiopian market in August, AliExpress has officially broken ground on its operations. This week, the global e-commerce giant announced two new partnerships: one focused on talent development, and the other aimed at opening a showroom in Ethiopia.

Additionally, the past week marked a major milestone with the launch of an online Inter-Bank Money Market Platform enabling two private banks to conduct transactions through this new platform for the first time.  

Our roundup also includes updates on a new e-commerce platform, ongoing challenges related to data financing, a new coffee pricing mechanism introduced by the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, and an in-depth analysis of Ethiopia’s Labor Market Information System and its implications for migrant workers, among other topics. Enjoy! 

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The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has launched an electronic money market trading platform for interbank lending. Read more.

Ethiopia has finalized a study to build Africa’s largest airport capable of handling nearly 130 million passengers annually, according to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD). Read more.  

In early 2023, the Ethiopian government introduced a program to send half a million domestic workers to the Middle East, with the Ethiopian Labor Market Information System (E-LMIS) central to the initiative. Read more.

The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) has introduced a new pricing mechanism for coffee sold on its trading floor, but exporters say the changes do not reflect the high prices erasing their margins in the domestic market. Read more.  

Alibaba’s first showroom has opened its doors in Addis Ababa through a foundational partnership with local firm Echelon Groups. Read more.

Directors from several African statistical agencies have called for targeted funding in data and statistics to fuel innovation and economic growth on the continent. Read more.

Global oil prices are set to plunge to the lowest level in five years in 2025 as a massive supply glut buffers the market from geopolitical disruptions, according to the World Bank. Read more.

A new local platform Buyer First flips the traditional e-commerce model on its head. Instead of sellers listing products, buyers post their specific needs or desires. Sellers who can fulfill these requests then compete to offer the best solutions. Read more.