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- Issue 205: Pending Licenses & Issued Warnings
Issue 205: Pending Licenses & Issued Warnings
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Top Stories of the Week
Ethiopia Implements Law Requiring Institutions to Obtain License for Collecting Personal Data
Ethiopian Securities Exchange Names Brook Taye (PhD) as Chair of New Board
AI Finds Place Beyond Work in the Lives of Ethiopia’s Youth
IMF, WB Warn About Ethiopia’s ‘Unsustainable’ Debt Levels
SantimPay Enters Djibouti Market Through Partnership with Meras
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Celebrating 120 Years of German–Ethiopian Diplomatic Relations
In honor of 120 years of German–Ethiopian diplomatic relations, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), the German-African Business Association (Afrika-Verein) and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will convene the official High-Level German–Ethiopian Business Forum on 26th November 2025 in Berlin | ህዳር 17, 2018 | in Berlin.
To commemorate this historic milestone, EAP Consulting PLC, on behalf of GIZ Ethiopia, is delighted to organize an exclusive Ethiopian business delegation to Germany from 25th NOVEMBER - 02 DECEMBER /ህዳር 16 - ህዳር 23 2018/.
This distinguished program will provide a rare platform for Ethiopian companies and institutions to connect at the forefront of international partnership and innovation.
Ethiopia Implements Law Requiring Institutions to Obtain License for Collecting Personal Data
The Ethiopian Communications Authority has announced that institutions collecting individuals’ personal data in Ethiopia must obtain a license starting this fiscal year.
Director General Balcha Reba said the Authority has the power to enforce the Personal Data Protection Proclamation, part of the government’s effort to implement the newly enacted personal data protection law.
He added that institutions previously operating without a license will now be required to register. An electronic system will allow organizations to complete the process remotely, without visiting the Authority in person. Read more.
Ethiopian Health Facilities Adopt Pharmaceuticals Demand Forecasting Platform
Backed by $435,000 in funding from the Gates Foundation, forlab+, a national forecasting platform designed to predict medicine and health resource needs, has been adopted by over 5,000 public health facilities in Ethiopia, with nearly 9,000 registered users in less than a year since its rollout. Read more.
Ethiopian Securities Exchange Names Brook Taye Chair of New Board
The Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) has announced the appointment of a new Board of Directors to oversee its next phase of development, following the exchange’s launch earlier this year.
Brook Taye (PhD), the founding Director General of ECMA, has been named chair of the board, with Helaway Tadesse serving as deputy chair. The board brings together seasoned professionals from banking, insurance, finance, and international markets. Read more.
Guest Contribution: How Ethiopia’s Central Bank Plans to Keep Prices in Check Without a Credit Cap
The National Bank of Ethiopia is preparing to lift its long-standing credit cap, a move that could unlock 1.3 trillion Birr in new bank lending. Some critics warn that removing the cap may channel fresh credit into non-productive sectors and push prices higher.
However, Yonas Ayele states that the credit cap is a weak and ineffective tool for disinflation. Instead, he contends that the solution lies in adopting price-based instruments that shape saving, borrowing, expectations, the exchange rate, and the broader monetary environment, rather than simply restricting the volume of loans. Read more.
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What’s on Our Mind
Why New Ports Alone Won’t Fix Ethiopia’s Broken Logistics
For three decades, Ethiopia has carried the peculiar distinction of being the world’s most populous landlocked country. Since Eritrea’s independence in 1993 and the bloody conflict that followed five years later, Ethiopia has depended almost entirely on Djibouti’s ports to move its goods in and out of the country. The arrangement has come at a steep price: more than a billion dollars annually, a sum Ethiopia can ill afford.
It is no surprise, then, that Ethiopia has begun to diversify its options, eyeing Kenyan and Somaliland ports as alternatives and other options from the north more recently. Just last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said Ethiopia will not remain a prisoner of its geography. Access to the Red Sea would offer much-needed fiscal relief and a degree of strategic breathing room. But the fixation on sea access risks overlooking a deeper problem: even if Ethiopia were handed a coastline tomorrow, the country’s logistics system is too broken to take full advantage of it.
The Ethiopian Logistics Services Enterprise, a state-run behemoth formed from the merger of four entities, has for years dominated what is effectively a monopoly. It controls sea transport, freight forwarding, air cargo, trucking, dry ports, and warehouses. Yet in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, Ethiopia remains stuck near the bottom. The reasons are depressingly familiar: inadequate digitization, rickety road networks, aging truck fleets, Byzantine red tape, and poor coordination among government agencies.
A new port, under these conditions, risks becoming little more than a mirage. What good is access to the sea if moving goods inland remains just as cumbersome and costly as before? Ethiopia’s leaders, to their credit, have signaled an appetite for reform, experimenting with private-sector participation and multimodal services. But incremental tweaks will not be enough.
If Ethiopia is to capitalize on potential new gateways to the Red Sea, it must tackle the bottlenecks at home. That means streamlining customs procedures, modernizing infrastructure, upgrading staff capacity, and strengthening the legal frameworks that govern trade. Otherwise, Ethiopia’s port debate will remain a distraction, an argument about doors, when the real problem is that the hallways inside are impassable.
AI Finds Place Beyond Work in the Lives of Ethiopia’s Youth
AI chatbots have become the centerpiece of professional conversations over the past two years. But today, their reach extends far beyond work.
In Ethiopia, young people are inviting these digital assistants into their most personal spaces, helping with meal plans, guiding Bible study, and even mediating friendship disputes. But as AI becomes more present in the intimate spaces of life, does it pose a danger when allowed to shape relationships, faith, and self-talk? Read more.
Siinqee Bank Launches MasterCard Prepaid Card Service
Siinqee Bank has officially rolled out a Mastercard-branded prepaid card in partnership with Premier Switch Solutions (PSS), expanding its suite of digital payment services in Ethiopia. The move marks Siinqee as the first bank outside PSS’s core network to offer prepaid cards carrying the globally recognised Mastercard logo. Read more.
Get Your Tickets for Enkopa 2025 Summits
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Two days of insight, networking, and opportunity. Ethiopia’s leading summit where commerce, technology, and deals come together.
📍 Hyatt Regency, Addis Ababa 📅, October 9–10, 2025
Young Editors, Free Content & Limitless Pages: Ethiopia’s Digital Literary Subculture
A literary subculture is emerging in Ethiopia, living not in print kiosks but in Telegram channels and PDFs passed phone to phone. Read more.
IMF, WB Warn About Ethiopia’s ‘Unsustainable’ Debt Levels
A new report published by the IMF and World Bank this month warns that Ethiopia’s ability to carry and repay debt has been eroded significantly by falling foreign exchange reserves and protracted breaches of exports-related external debt indicators.
The report, approved by senior officials from both institutions, said: “Ethiopia’s debt is assessed to be unsustainable, mainly due to protracted breaches of exports-related external debt indicators and is based on a weak Debt Carrying Capacity.” It added that the country has been in debt distress since it missed a Eurobond interest payment in December 2023. Read more.
Rwanda Launches Africa’s First Self-Flying Air Taxi
Rwanda has conducted a test flight of Africa’s first self-flying passenger drone, the EHang EH216-S, over Kigali. The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, carrying two passengers without a pilot, reached about 100 meters, marking the country’s entry into the emerging air mobility sector. Read more.
What Do Ethiopians Use Mobile Money For
Mobile money in Ethiopia is no longer just about sending and receiving funds. It’s becoming a daily financial tool, from airtime top-ups to digital savings, bill payments, loans, and even online payments. With 1 trillion ETB in transaction value and 170% growth in just one year, mobile money is steadily becoming part of everyday life, especially in urban areas. While gender gaps in usage remain, emerging use cases are also gaining ground.
Our latest infographic, under AKOFADA (Advancing Knowledge on Financial Accessibility and DFS Adoption), explores the most common mobile money use cases and the evolving transaction patterns in Ethiopia. Visit DFS Hub Ethiopia to download the high-resolution visual.
SantimPay Enters Djibouti Market Through Strategic Partnership with Meras
Ethiopian fintech operator SantimPay has taken its first step into the Djibouti market through a partnership with Meras Djibouti, a newly licensed payment services provider. While SantimPay will not establish a physical office in the neighboring country, the deal positions the company as a technology service provider in Djibouti’s nascent digital finance sector.
Under the agreement, SantimPay will supply Meras with its modern point-of-sale (POS) machines equipment assembled locally in Ethiopia and provide technology solutions that support payment services in Djibouti. Read more.
Eyob Tekalign Appointed as 11th Governor of Ethiopia’s Central Bank
Two weeks after the abrupt departure of Mamo Mihretu, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has appointed Eyob Tekalign (PhD) as the new governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). Read more.
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New Mobile Platform Offers Integrated Ambulance Dispatch Service in Addis Ababa
In Addis Ababa, many patients wait over an hour before first aid. A new platform, Le Ambulance (9117), aims to cut deadly delays with centralized ambulance dispatch and GPS tracking. Read more.
Financial Inclusion: Urban Perspectives on Rural Realities
As part of the AKOFADA (Advancing Knowledge on Financial Accessibility and DFS Adoption) project, this survey seeks to understand how urban residents experience digital financial services, how their families in rural areas navigate financial access, and what role innovative tools like prepaid wallet cards could play in bridging these gaps. Your responses will inform upcoming reports designed to guide more inclusive digital finance service solutions in Ethiopia
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