Issue 228: Systems Meet

The African Development Bank Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched the AI 10 Billion Initiative, a transformative continental drive to accelerate responsible artificial intelligence adoption and inclusive digital economic growth across Africa.

The announcement was made during the recent Nairobi AI Forum 2026, which brought together governments, private sector leaders, development partners, and tech innovators to chart pathways for AI adoption with impact. Read more.

Up to 40% of Ethiopia’s perishable agricultural output is lost between farm and market, according to a new study that reframes post-harvest spoilage as a logistics and infrastructure failure. With transport alone accounting for 58% of total supply-chain costs, the report draws a direct line between rural road gaps, cold-chain shortages, and rising urban food prices. Read more.

Addis Abeba has halted the collection of biometric data for its residential ID card following the integration of the city’s registration system with the Fayda National Digital ID rollout.

The city’s digital residency card has now undergone its second redesign, incorporating the Fayda registration number. With the integration, biometric data is no longer collected separately, as the system relies on information already registered under the national platform. Read more.

Ethiopia's floriculture sector is a powerhouse: more than 80 commercial farms, 60,000+ direct jobs, and flowers comprising ~80% of $565M horticulture exports in 2024/25. Yet on Valentine's Day, Addis Ababa vendors rationed red roses as prices surged from 30-50 Birr to 100 Birr per stem. Read more.

M-Pesa Ethiopia has partnered with Gebeya, an AI-powered creator platform, to launch the Dala AI Bundle, a new subscription product that allows Ethiopians to access AI creation tools through the mobile money platform. Gebeya users can pay for the AI tools using their M-Pesa wallet, removing the need for credit cards and making artificial intelligence accessible to anyone with a mobile.

The AI tools include app building, AI agent creation, game development, comic generation, and AI-powered content creation in Amharic, Oromo, and other local languages. The launch builds on Gebeya's existing partnership in the East African nation through the Safaricom Talent Cloud, which has already trained thousands of Ethiopian developers. Read more.

The National Bank of Ethiopia has announced that it is working on regulatory frameworks to ensure the safe and orderly participation of stakeholders in emerging digital asset technologies, following growing activity in peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading and exchange. Read more.

Mesfin Tasew Bekele, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, highlighted the need for African governments to advance visa liberalisation in tandem with aviation connectivity to strengthen economic integration.

He spoke at the High-Level Symposium on Advancing a Visa-Free Africa for Economic Prosperity, co-hosted by the African Development Bank Group and the African Union Commission alongside the 39th African Union Summit. Read more.

In early February, Ethiopia’s social media feeds flooded with videos alleging a mass dog culling operation in Addis Ababa. Online petitions quickly followed. Beneath the outrage lies a deeper structural issue: the tension between legacy municipal sanitation tactics and a rapidly modernizing urban economy.

Globally, rabies control strategies have shifted toward vaccination, sterilization, and digital registration systems. Ethiopia also enacted the Animal Health and Welfare Proclamation in 2025, emphasizing humane treatment, vaccination, and traceability.

Yet recent culling campaigns signal a disconnect between the legal framework and municipal execution. Read more.