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- Issue 209: Credit Where Credit’s Due
Issue 209: Credit Where Credit’s Due
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Top Stories of the Week
Ethiopia's Debt Restructuring Hits Impasse, Bondholders Eye Legal Action
Ethio Telecom Bets on $17 Advanced 4G Feature Phones to Shrink Ethiopia’s Digital Divide
NBE Drafts Rule to Tighten Bank Ownership Transfers
EKA Mobility Partners with Ethiopia’s Kerchanshe Trading to Build EV Assembly Plant for East Africa
Human Trafficking Victims’ Fund Struggles to Get off Paper Five Years after Parliamentary Approval
Ethiopia's Debt Restructuring Hits Impasse, Bondholders Eye Legal Action
Ethiopia’s debt restructuring negotiations with its bondholders had failed for the time being due to differences over the key terms that have kept the country in financial limbo for almost two years.
The East African nation defaulted on its sole international bond in late 2023 after opting for a restructuring under the G20's flagship Common Framework initiative. Read more.
Inside an Addis-Based Firm’s Experimental Approach to Startup Survival in Ethiopia
EfuyeGela’s self-financing model channels income from corporate consulting to support early-stage ventures, keeping them alive long after incubation. Read more.
Ethio Telecom Bets on $17 Advanced 4G Feature Phones to Shrink Ethiopia’s Digital Divide
Ethio telecom has rolled out a 4G-enabled advanced feature phones with prices starting at just 2,500 birr (about $17), as part of a new push to make internet access affordable for millions of Ethiopians still offline.
The Znexus phones feature both keypads and touchscreens, extended battery life suited for rural and low-power areas, and built-in teleStorage that removes the need for large on-device storage. Read more.
Urbanization and Inflation Threaten Ethiopia’s Century-old Institution, Edir
As Addis Ababa’s skyline rises, Edir, a communal institution slightly older than the city itself, faces quiet erosion. Once the emotional and financial lifeline of Ethiopian communities, it now struggles to adapt to urban lifestyles, inflation, urban sprawl, and regulation. Read more.
NBE Drafts Rule to Tighten Bank Ownership Transfers
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has issued a draft directive to tighten oversight of the banking sector by restricting large ownership transfers and enhancing regulatory scrutiny.
Titled the “Transfer of Significant Ownership in a Bank Directive,” the draft seeks to align with the supervision framework of international standards while ensuring the suitability and financial soundness of new shareholders. Read more.
Guest Contribution- Diaspora Dollars vs. Global Rules: Why Ethiopia Must Choose Compliance for Remittance
As Ethiopia seeks to attract more foreign exchange, new digital remittance models are emerging, capitalizing on speed & lower costs by directly debiting diaspora accounts abroad. But Abebe G. Gebru cautions against this trend.
He argues that these “pull” models could expose Ethiopian banks and fintechs to cross-border compliance risks and bring them into conflict with the financial regulations of countries where remittances originate. Read more.
What’s on Our Mind
Ethiopia’s Debt Talks Show the Limits of Global Financial Fairness
A high-level delegation of Ethiopia’s economic stewards, including the new central bank governor, Eyob Tekalign (PhD), and Finance Minister Ahmed Shide, descended on Washington last week for the IMF-World Bank annual meetings. The agenda was crowded: panel discussions on Africa’s debt distress, climate vulnerabilities, and a flurry of bilateral engagements to secure development financing.
But the optimism that often surrounds such gatherings quickly faded. Ethiopia’s long-running debt restructuring talks once again hit a wall. Negotiations with private bondholders stalled, overshadowing the country’s recent success in securing a deal with official creditors, including China and France, to restructure $3.5 billion in debt back in July. A new round of talks between September 25 and October 13 produced no final agreement. Days later, Fitch Ratings reaffirmed Ethiopia’s status at “Restricted Default,” a label that hangs like a millstone over its economic ambitions.
Ethiopia applied for debt restructuring under the G20’s Common Framework in February 2021, with formal talks beginning that July. The Framework, designed to ensure that debtor nations receive comparable treatment from both official and private creditors, was heralded as a breakthrough in global finance.
Under the rules, private creditors are supposed to offer relief at least on par with official lenders. Yet, time and again, they have resisted, prolonging uncertainty for governments already teetering on fiscal cliffs. For Ethiopia, this deadlock has real consequences. The country’s $3.4 billion, four-year IMF program hinges on fiscal discipline, market reforms, and progress in debt talks. But the longer negotiations drag on, the more painful the domestic fallout becomes.
In pursuit of reform, Ethiopia has floated its currency, slashed subsidies, and tightened tax collection, all in line with IMF prescriptions meant to stabilize the economy. These moves may please creditors, but they have also driven up living costs and strained household budgets. Inflation remains stubbornly high. The promise of “relief” feels distant for ordinary Ethiopians whose livelihoods depend on food prices, fuel costs, and public services.
Whether the stalemate with private lenders reflects flawed negotiation tactics or the structural inequities of the Common Framework is, in the end, immaterial to citizens on the ground. What matters is that global mechanisms meant to ease financial distress too often deepen it.
Ethiopia’s predicament should prompt more than frustration at Washington’s meeting halls. It should be a moment of reckoning about how debt relief is conceived, and for whom. Without genuine reform in the architecture of sovereign finance, emerging economies will continue to pay twice: once for the loans they took, and again for the unkept promises
EKA Mobility Partners with Ethiopia’s Kerchanshe Trading to Build EV Assembly Plant for East Africa
Electric commercial vehicle maker EKA Mobility has agreed with Ethiopia's Kerchanshe Trading Plc to establish distribution, assembly, and after-sales operations in the country to target markets in East Africa.
Under the pact, the two parties will look at establishing a local Completely Knocked Down (CKD) assembly plant for EKA vehicles in Ethiopia, with the goal of launching distribution and service operations across Ethiopia and neighbouring markets, and introducing a comprehensive range of clean, electric mobility products tailored to meet regional requirements, the company said in a statement. Read more.
Guest Contribution- Without Anchor Firms, Small Businesses Stay Small. So Do Economies
Drawing on his experience across African markets, investor and strategist Sam Rosmarin argues that the continent’s challenge isn’t just the “missing middle,” but the “missing top.”
He notes that anchor firms, such as large processors, exporters, and manufacturers, play a pivotal role in organizing markets, linking suppliers, and mobilizing finance for smaller enterprises. Read more.
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Human Trafficking Victims’ Fund Struggles to Get off Paper Five Years after Parliamentary Approval
A five-year-old law establishing a fund for the victims of human trafficking remains unrealized owing to a lack of supporting legislation, leaving returnees with little support in rehabilitation and reintegration, say senior officials from the Ministry of Justice.
Abraham Ayalew, head of the national cooperation secretariat at the Ministry, spoke about the lack of progress on the victim rehabilitation fund established by Parliament during an event last week marking the launch of an International Organization for Migration (IOM) initiative. Read more.
Engida Travel Unveils Superapp for Bus Ticketing and Trip Management in Ethiopia
Engida Travel has launched Liyu Bus, a new superapp aiming to digitize Ethiopia’s intercity travel, bringing e-ticketing, trip management, and in-app payments into one platform. Read more.
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