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- Issue 190: Bottled Ambition
Issue 190: Bottled Ambition
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Top Stories of the Week
Kegna Beverages Launches Premium Lager After 22 Billion Birr Investment
$4M Later, 3M Deliveries in: Ethiopia’s beU Delivery Rides to First Taste of Profit
Council Approves Record 2 Trillion Birr Budget for 2025/26 Amid Currency Weakness
Parliament Repeals Disputed Salary Levy for Disaster Response Fund
Wingu Africa Secures $60 Million for Data Center Expansion Across East Africa
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Kegna Beverages Launches Premium Lager After 22 Billion Birr Investment
Kegna Beverages S.C. unveiled its flagship product, Kegna Premium Lager, on Saturday in Addis Ababa, following a 22 billion Birr investment.
The 110-hectare Ginchi-based brewery combines international-grade equipment with local engineering to produce a 5 % ABV lager available in bottles and kegs. With a current output capacity of three million hectoliters and plans to double in four years, the company has positioned itself as an FMCG challenger, while preparing to roll out non-alcoholic beverages later this year.
Prior reports show that Kegna Beverages was incorporated in 2017 by 5,000 shareholders, including farmers. The company started with a subscribed capital of 1.5 billion Birr, which later climbed to five billion Birr in paid-up capital. Public enterprises in the Oromia Regional State hold the majority stake, giving the venture considerable local backing. Read more.
Wegagen Capital Goes into Business as Ethiopia’s First Investment Bank
Wegagen Capital Investment Bank S.C. announced the launch of its operations last week, two months after obtaining its investment banking license. Read more.
$4M Later, 3M Deliveries in: Ethiopia’s beU Delivery Rides to First Taste of Profit
After nearly 4 years and $4M invested, BeU Delivery has reached its first profitable month in May, a major feat in the high-burn, low-margin food delivery space.
Founded in 2021, BeU started as one of Ethiopia’s first on-demand food delivery startups and now completes 4,000 orders/day, with 3 million total deliveries under its belt.
In an era of declining VC funding across Africa, BeU’s growth-through-lean operations, bicycle-based logistics, and local partnerships reflect a growing trend among the continent's entrepreneurs. Read More.
What’s on Our Mind
It has taken six years and three drafts for Ethiopia’s Startup Proclamation to secure cabinet approval.
If it receives a green light from Parliament, the proclamation which got a long-awaited go ahead from the council of ministers last week aims to address persistent bottlenecks for startups including legal recognition, access to finance, and incorporation hurdles. Mind you, less than 5% of Ethiopian startups secure institutional seed funding, and exits are virtually nonexistent. While the law introduces much-needed clarity through definitions, incentives, and regulatory sandboxes it remains a framework without teeth.
However, despite declarations of being an “entrepreneurial state,” Ethiopia's policymaking remains caught in a familiar bind: reforms are announced with fanfare, but implementation lags fractured, unclear, or forgotten after the pilot phase. There’s a widening gap between what the state says and what it enables.
While the proclamation introduces long-overdue clarity, definitions, incentives, and a legal mandate for regulatory sandboxes, it remains a legal skeleton. Without clear enforcement pathways, financing pipelines, or robust institutional support, the law alone cannot jumpstart the ecosystem.
Council Approves Record 2 Trillion Birr Budget for 2025/26 Amid Currency Weakness
Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers has approved a record federal budget of nearly two trillion birr (around 15.4 billion US dollars) for the 2025/26 fiscal year, as the government looks to deepen macroeconomic reforms while navigating mounting security and humanitarian pressures.
The newly approved budget represents a substantial nominal increase from last year’s 1.25 trillion birr allocation. However, when adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations, the picture changes dramatically. Read more.
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China’s GAC Launches EV Models in Ethiopia, Eyes Industrial Hub Role
China-based GAC International has launched its electric vehicle (EV) brand in Ethiopia. The launch, which took place in Addis Ababa, introduced two of GAC's latest electric vehicle (EV) models, the AION Y and ES9.
The company aims to provide end-to-end NEV solutions, covering everything from product development and manufacturing to distribution and service. Read more.
UN Project to Bet on Ethiopia’s Emerging Tech Prospects as Crypto miners Seek Predictable Policy
As Ethiopia increasingly becomes a haven for crypto mining, the UN’s NTF V project is expanding its focus to include AI, blockchain, and Web3, aiming to engage policymakers and the private sector. Read more.
Parliament Repeals Disputed Salary Levy for Disaster Response Fund
Parliament has removed a contested clause from the new “Emergency Response Fund” legislation that would have required government and private sector employees to contribute a portion of their salaries.
The clause was struck down during last week’s passage of the “Emergency Response Management Proclamation,” amid concerns that it placed undue financial pressure on workers. Read more.
Safaricom Faces Antitrust Complaint over Exclusive M-Pesa Deal with Ziidi Fund
A formal complaint has been filed with the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) against Safaricom over an exclusive zero-rated transaction arrangement with the Ziidi Money Market Fund (Ziidi MMF), a digital investment product offered through M-Pesa.
The complaint, lodged by investor Edwin Dande through IC Law Advocates, alleges that Safaricom's preferential treatment of Ziidi MMF violates sections 21 and 24 of the Competition Act by distorting competition in Kenya's retail investment market.
The arrangement allows Ziidi users to deposit and withdraw funds via M-Pesa without incurring transaction fees- a benefit not extended to competing funds such as Cytonn and Etica. Read more.
CFA Program Debuts in Ethiopia as Nation looks to Develop its Capital Market
Ethiopia has officially launched the globally recognized Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program in partnership with CFA Institute and the Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority (ECMA).
The initiative aims to elevate professional standards, expand access to global finance networks, and support the country’s capital markets by equipping students and professionals with rigorous training in ethics, investment analysis, and portfolio management. Read more.
Wingu Africa Secures US$60 Million for Data Center Expansion Across East Africa
Wingu Africa has raised $60 million in financing from Rand Merchant Bank to accelerate the development of digital infrastructure across Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
The data center operator, which already serves more than 40 enterprise clients, including telecom firms, hyperscalers, and financial institutions, will use the funding to expand its regional footprint and meet rising demand for secure, scalable cloud connectivity.
In Ethiopia, Wingu’s Tier III-certified data campus hosts the ADDIX internet exchange, playing a central role in accelerating cloud adoption and digital content distribution. Read more.
EdTech Without Data? Ethiopian Experts Warn of Biased Outcomes, Inaccuracy, and Fragmentation
Ethiopia’s education technology ecosystem continues to face a fundamental challenge: accessing reliable and actionable data.
In the May edition of EdTech Mondays, experts discussed how data integrity, or the lack thereof, is shaping the future of digital learning in Ethiopia.
The episode called for an ecosystem-wide approach that empowers developers, teachers, students, and communities through better infrastructure, targeted awareness campaigns, and ethical data governance. Read more.
Digital P2P Lending Platform for Ethiopia
What if borrowers and lenders could connect directly through a simple and innovative way? A Digital P2P Lending Platform could be the answer for this.
Shega’s AKOFADA project latest report explores the design and applicability of a safe and seamless platform for connecting borrowers and lenders.
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