Issue 223: Running Short

Local Words for Digital Finance: What Do You Think?

Digital Financial Services (DFS) are rapidly expanding in Ethiopia, but language barriers and cultural nuance still limit understanding and adoption. Shega, as part of the AKOADA Project, has been working on the localization and translation of Digital Financial Services (DFS) terminology into Amharic and Afan Oromo.

This work is about turning complex finance and tech terms into clear, culturally relevant language that helps improve financial literacy and makes DFS more accessible for everyone.

We are sharing some of these translated Amharic terms to get your feedback. We would appreciate it if you could give them a review and tell us what works, what feels off, and what you would say instead.

Birrmetrics has reported that, starting February 8, all purchases of mobile airtime and data in Ethiopia will be subject to a 5% levy. 

This measure follows the enactment of a new law that aims to finance a Disaster Risk Response Fund, drawing contributions from banks, insurers, telecom operators, transport services, fuel suppliers, and government budgets. Read more.

The Ethiopian Health Insurance Service has formally launched the implementation of Social Health Insurance for government employees in the health sector. The scheme covers medical services across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels within government healthcare institutions, with 65pc of public health centres currently contracted to deliver services. Read more.

The National Bank of Ethiopia held its biweekly foreign exchange auction last week to supply commercial banks with U.S. dollars. Twenty-one banks participated, collectively requesting 94.7 million dollars, but the central bank was able to allocate only 70 million, leaving a shortfall of 24.7 million dollars. Read more.

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The Ministry of Education is poised to strip “International school” status from leading private institutions unless they enroll at least 30% of foreign students. The reclassification of non-compliant institutions as “local” schools will require them to abandon international curricula in favour of Ethiopia’s national system. Read more.

Websprix, Ethiopia’s first private internet service provider, has launched what it calls a sovereign cloud infrastructure, aligning with a national push toward data localization and digital sovereignty under the Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy.

Dawit Birhanu, co-founder and chief executive of Websprix, said that while cloud infrastructure is foundational to banks, governments, and innovation ecosystems globally, it also raises critical questions about where data is stored, who controls it, and how security and national sovereignty are protected. Read more.

A major new Africa-wide study has warned that Ethiopia must move far more aggressively on technology, research investment, and digital tools if it is to unlock the full potential of its agricultural sector and tackle persistent rural poverty.

The 2025 Annual Trends and Outlook Report, under the AU’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, finds that most of Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth, including in Ethiopia, still comes from expanding cultivated area rather than from innovation and efficiency gains. Read more.

MIDROC Investment Group is looking to secure financing in the hundreds of millions of dollars to back a series of high-profile projects in the hotel and mining industries as part of the conglomerate’s ambitions to kickstart investment in new lines of business following an extended period of dormancy.

This includes a proposed $116 million in funding for several hotel projects in the capital, and a further $200 million to back a commercial-scale gold mining venture in Metekel, Benishangul-Gumuz. Read more.

Ethiopia has formally elevated control of the electromagnetic spectrum to the level of an existential national security priority, as senior government and security officials convened for the country’s first-ever Electronic Warfare Workshop.

The electromagnetic spectrum refers to the invisible range of radio and signal frequencies that power everything from mobile phones and satellites to military communications and radar systems. Read more.