Issue 167: Tech CEO Charged

Hello

Last week, news broke that a notable figure in Ethiopia’s telecommunications sector, Dawit Birhanu, Co-founder and CEO of WebSprix, the country’s first licensed private internet service provider, is facing serious criminal charges from Ethiopian authorities.

Shega Weekly’s coverage also brings several key stories, including World Bank staff questioning Ethiopia's debt assessment, the fall of Ethiopia’s bid to rejoin AGOA, ZamZam Bank’s launch of a Sharia-compliant digital financial service, and COOP’s heightened digital transactions.

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Dawit Birhanu, the Co-founder and CEO of WebSprix, along with Mekdes Aklilu, a shareholder and board chairman, has been charged with offenses including tax evasion, money laundering, and breaches of terrorism-related laws. Read more. 

A pioneer in interest-free banking services in Ethiopia, ZamZam Bank has launched Ansar, a Sharia-compliant digital financial service. Read more.

Some World Bank staff have criticized an assessment of Ethiopia's finances conducted with the International Monetary Fund, questioning whether the analysis that underpins the country's debt restructuring may be "faulty". Read more.

Ethiopia’s bid to rejoin the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has once again fallen short. In its latest announcement on 21 December, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) maintained Ethiopia on the list of suspended countries. Read more.

The Document Authentication & Registration Service has deployed, Qetero a digital appointment booking platform developed by Ethiopian developers. Read more. 

Compelled by a 2022 directive, Ethiopian commercial banks have channeled a substantial 110 billion birr into five-year treasury bonds issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia over the past two years, significantly altering the landscape of domestic debt. Read more. 

Ethiopia’s parliament has unanimously ratified a bill to establish a special fund worth billions of birr for the Green Legacy Initiative and the restoration of degraded land. Read more.

The Cooperative Bank of Oromia (CBO) announced that a total transaction of 1.36 trillion birr was made through 489.5 million transactions on its mobile money platform, Coopay E-Birr. Read more. 

Local tech firm Vulcan ICT has entered into a partnership with the Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority (ECTA) to develop a coffee traceability platform as the compliance deadline with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) gets closer. Read more.

Moenco, the official distributor of BYD in Ethiopia officially launched its showroom offering a six-year or 150,000km vehicle warranty and an eight-year battery warranty. Read more.

Ethiopia's ambition to become an East African economic powerhouse is facing headwinds, a new UNCTAD report warns, as weak institutions and a poorly skilled workforce hinder the country's ability to compete with regional rivals like Kenya and Rwanda. Read more.

A step-by-step guide for taxpayers in Addis Ababa to comply with the Ministry of Revenue's order requiring QR codes on receipts. Read more.