Issue 173: First Impressions & Aid

Hello

In the past week, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made her first official visit to Ethiopia since taking office, meeting with government officials to discuss Ethiopia's economic policies, ongoing reforms, and potential collaboration with the IMF, including debt restructuring under the G20's Common Framework. Georgieva also engaged with private sector leaders and entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, discussions related to another international agency USAID that’s hanging by a thread filled the public discourse. 5000 health workers in Ethiopia were suspended from their Job following the suspension of USAID.

Our news roundup also includes Ethiopia and Russia exploring trade in local currencies, criticism of the Ethiopian Investment Commission for failures in maintaining foreign investment, stories on digitizing freight operations, an analysis of the gender gap in digital financial services, and the need to redesign payment confirmations for improved usability, among other items.  

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Ethiopia is nearing the end of debt restructuring talks under the Group of 20’s Common Framework, according to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. The IMF has already disbursed about $1.5 billion of a $3.5 billion financing package to Ethiopia, which expanded its economy by 8.1% last year amid reforms. Read more.

Despite Ethiopia’s rapid adoption of digital financial services (DFS), gaps in payment confirmation continue to hinder trust and usability. Some businesses hesitate to accept mobile payments due to fraud risks, while users navigating P2G payments still rely on physical receipts for security. Read more.

Ethiopian women face pronounced financial exclusion, with only 35% having access to formal financial services compared to 48% of men. Women also hold just 14% of mobile money accounts. Structural barriers such as limited asset ownership, digital illiteracy, and restrictive social norms continue to hinder their financial inclusion. Read more.  

More than 5,000 health sector employees are facing termination after the Ministry of Health received a directive to halt work and payments funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USAID. Read more.

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Russia and Ethiopia are exploring the use of their local currencies for bilateral trade to strengthen economic ties, aiming to reduce transaction costs and mitigate economic uncertainties. Read more.

Ethiopia’s central bank and its nascent capital market authority are preparing tools to allow foreign investment into the country’s exchange, says Brook Taye (PhD), CEO of Ethiopian Investment Holding (EIH). Read more.

The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) has come under fire for glaring failures in maintaining foreign investment projects and following up on foreign employment permits as a report from the Federal Auditor General exposes systematic shortcomings and a culture of erroneous reporting stretching back nearly three decades at the Commission. Read more.

A powerful lobby group of Ethiopian transporters has embarked on a project to digitize freight operations and minimize the role of middlemen. Read more.

Businesses in Ethiopia must now include QR codes on all manually issued receipts or risk losing key tax benefits under new regulations designed to increase compliance and improve oversight. Read more.

For most people, dining out is a simple pleasure. However, the experience is not straightforward for the visually impaired. Read more.