Issue 225: State Trials

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The Ministry of Health, working with the National Bank of Ethiopia and the Ministry of Finance, has begun piloting a digital payment system across selected health facilities.

Ethiopia’s new digital payment strategy sets a comprehensive digitization target for the public healthcare ecosystem, covering facility payments, pharmacy supply chains, health insurance premiums, and healthcare worker salaries, with a goal of reaching 50 percent digitization by 20230. Read more.

Ethiopia is set to open a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) university within the next six months, according to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

An “AI university” refers to an institution or program focused specifically on artificial intelligence education and research. As of early 2026, such initiatives are emerging globally. One prominent example is the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in the UAE, a graduate-level, research-focused institution with a strong emphasis on areas such as machine learning and computer vision. Read more.

The European Chamber of Commerce in Ethiopia has launched an EU foreign direct investment incubation center, positioning it as a front door for European companies considering entry into the Ethiopian market.

The center is designed to support firms during the pre-investment and establishment phase, offering regulatory orientation, institutional linkages, incubation space, and policy engagement at a time when Ethiopia is implementing wide-ranging economic reforms. Read more.

The government agency in charge of administering pensions for private-sector employees is eyeing an investment in the securities exchange, Abate Mitiku, head of the Private Organization Employees’ Social Security Administration, informed lawmakers. Read more.

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A pilot initiative aimed at helping low-income borrowers access bank loans using movable collateral, such as livestock, has stalled due to gaps in know-how and infrastructure.

Although legal frameworks enabling movable collateral were introduced over five years ago to expand credit access, particularly for farmers, implementation has lagged. Solomon Desta, vice governor at the National Bank of Ethiopia, cited deficits in market systems and infrastructure.

Banks lack facilities to hold foreclosed livestock, as well as online systems or marketplaces to sell them without warehousing, preventing the program from scaling. Read more.

The deadline for the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to reduce its on-balance sheet net open position (NOP) by at least half has been extended to March 2026 due to lower-than-expected foreign currency inflows. This extension, highlighted in a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) document, moves the original compliance deadline from the end of 2025.

The adjustment follows a larger-than-anticipated NOP in the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, caused by weaker foreign exchange receipts, primarily from remittances, and increased demand for foreign currency, particularly from the private sector. Read more.

Gridworks, a British government-owned investor in Africa's electricity networks, last week signed agreements to develop and invest in transmission projects worth around $400 million during a visit by Britain's foreign minister.

Yvette Cooper's trip to Ethiopia is part of efforts by the UK government to use job creation initiatives to try to stem the rising number of migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking to reach the United Kingdom. Read more.

A study by the impact measurement firm 60 Decibels found that Ethiopian coffee farmers are broadly willing to receive payments from their cooperatives through direct bank transfers rather than cash.

The research, based on phone interviews with farmers from six cooperatives that piloted bank transfers the prior year under the Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (OCFCU), shows strong farmer approval. Read more.

To accelerate digital adoption in Ethiopia, we must rethink transaction fee models for micro and small transactions. Our latest report proposes actionable models to make digital micro-transaction affordable, inclusive, and sustainable.

The report highlights how redesigned micro-transaction pricing models can accelerate Ethiopia's shift to digital finance by focusing on:

-Updating the fee structure
-Re-designing who should bear the cost to encourage adoption among low-income users
-Creating incentives that reward frequent digital transactions

Read the full use case report here.

Ethio telecom, Djibouti Telecom, and Sudatel Telecom Group have signed a tripartite agreement on Wednesday to develop the Horizon Fiber Initiative, a high-capacity terrestrial optical fiber network linking submarine cable landing stations in Djibouti through Ethiopia to Sudan.

The project is intended to create a more resilient and diversified connectivity corridor across the Horn of Africa, reducing reliance on Red Sea subsea cables that have proven vulnerable amid geopolitical tensions and physical disruptions. Read more.