Issue 218: Shifting Stakes

Over the past few months, many of you have shared the same frustration. Work that depends on understanding Ethiopia’s markets still starts with hours spent searching across scattered data, reports, and documents, often without a clear or reliable place to begin.

Today, we are introducing Shega Insights https://insights.shega.co/

Shega Insights brings Ethiopia’s market information into one place, including banking and financial sector data, company and investor records, funding and FDI activity, regulations, proclamations, and research. It is built to give people a grounded, decision-relevant view of what is happening in the market, without relying on fragmented sources.

On top of this is Ask Shega, an AI research assistant built into Shega Insights. It helps you understand Ethiopia’s market faster by pulling together what matters across the platform and turning it into clear, usable answers, so you spend less time searching and more time making decisions.

A small group of founding users has been testing an early version, and their feedback is shaping what comes next. We are now gradually opening early access to people with real market questions who want to help guide the next phase.

The planned acquisition of Komari Beverage by global brewer Heineken has collapsed, opening the door for Ethiopia’s Awash Wine Share Company to step in and pursue the purchase of the fast-growing Arada brand.

The Heineken–Komari deal, which was finalized in October 2024, reportedly unraveled amid shifts in Ethiopia’s macroeconomic environment. Sources said changes to the foreign exchange regime and a sharp depreciation of the birr complicated valuation and payment terms, ultimately leading the parties to abandon the transaction. Read more.

The Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) and Ethio Telecom have signed a strategic agreement to enable products manufactured in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks to access domestic markets through Zemen Gebeya, Ethio Telecom’s e-commerce platform. Read more.

ዕድል እና አጋጣሚዎች ፈጣን ተጠቃሚን ይመርጣሉ!

እርስዎም ፈጠን ብለው ተሸላሚ እንዲሆኑ፣ አቢሲንያ ባንክ - ከ ኅዳር 22 እስከ ጥር 21 ቀን 2018 ዓ.ም ድረስ “ከአቢሲንያ ባንክ ጋር ይጀምሩ - ያድሱ እና ይደጉ” የተሰኘ የሽልማት መርሀ-ግብር ለደንበኞቹ አዘጋጅቷል!

ከእርስዎ የሚጠበቀው የባንካችን ቤተሰብ በመሆን፣ በቅርንጫፍም ሆነ በዲጂታል አማራጮቻችን አዲስ ሂሳብ መክፈትና ተቀማጭ ማድረግ ፣ ነባር ሂሳብዎ ላይ ተጨማሪ ገቢ ማድረግ ፣ በፊት ገፅታዎ እና በጣት አሻራዎ የደንበኝነት ምዝገባ ማካሄድ፣ በባንካችን የውጭ ምንዛሬ መመንዘር ወይም ገቢ ማድረግ እንዲሁም ከባንካችን ጋር በአጋርነት ከሚሠሩ አገልግሎት ሰጪ ተቋማት በአቢሲንያ ባንክ በኩል ክፍያ መፈጸም ብቻ ነው!

ያን ጊዜ የሚያስሸልሙ ኩፖኖችን ወዲያውኑ ያገኛሉ! እነዚያ ኩፖኖች ደግሞ፦ አዲስ ሀዩንዳይ ኤሰንት መኪና፣ ቲቪና ላፕቶፕ፣ ጨምሮ ሌሎች በየ15 ቀኑ ፍሪጅ፣ የልብስ ማጠቢያ ማሽን እና ሌሎችም አጓጊ ሽልማቶችን አሸናፊ ያደርግዎታል፡፡

ያስታውሱ—የብዙ ኩፖኖች መኖር  የሽልማት ዕድልን ይጨምራል

ይበሉ ከአቢሲንያ ጋር ይጀምሩ – ያድሱ እና ይደጉ!

ለበለጠ መረጃ 8397

ደንብና ሁኔታዎች ተፈጻሚነት ይኖራቸዋል

አቢሲንያ - የሁሉም ምርጫ!

In a city where many e-commerce startups have struggled to survive, a TikTok creator is testing a new model. Ananas blends product reviews, social media demand, and in-house delivery in Addis. Read more.

ArifPay, the four-year-old financial technology company, has acquired a majority stake in Jami, an Ethiopian virtual tipping platform founded by Nathan Damtew. The founder will continue as general manager, guiding the platform’s expansion.

The deal marks a strategic expansion for the fintech company, which has increasingly broadened its business portfolio from its primary offering as a payment operator. Read more.

Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s second-largest lender by market capitalization, is eyeing expansion into Ethiopia as the country opens its banking and financial services sector to foreign lenders. Read more.

Siinqee Bank S.C., a three-year-old institution that evolved from a quarter-century legacy in microfinance, has raised its subscribed capital fivefold, from 15 billion Br to 75 billion Br, following approval by shareholders at a general meeting held at Sky Light Hotel last week.

The bank’s total assets reached 120.8 billion Br by the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year, up 102 pc from the previous year, and have since grown to 151 billion Br. Read more.

Consider this your wake-up call.

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Ethiopia has launched EthioPay, a new instant payment system that enables same-day interbank settlement, ushering in the capacity to handle several thousand transactions in seconds. Read more.

The Addis Ababa Revenue Bureau has enacted a new directive restricting the power of branch offices to freeze taxpayer bank accounts without authorization from its head office.

The reform follows years of complaints from businesses that mid-level officials and auditors were freezing accounts without prior notice, often over minor accounting discrepancies.

Under the new circular, the power to suspend accounts now rests solely with the Bureau’s head office. Read more.

Closing Ethiopia’s gender gap in digital finance is often framed as a data problem, yet the real issue is design. Too many “women-centric” DFS products rely on small tweaks to generic models, rather than being built around women’s lived economic realities.

Thinking that digital financial products are inherently inclusive rests on a flawed assumption. Global examples show that when products are truly gender-intentional, women don’t just enroll, they actively use them. Ethiopia’s challenge is turning rhetoric into substance. Read more.