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Top Stories of the Week
New Registry Planned to Identify Beneficiaries Behind Ethiopian Businesses
Fayda Digital ID Joins EIH Portfolio with Ten Billion Birr Capital
Algorithms and Azmaris: Inside Ethiopia’s AI Music Wave
Half-Billion Dollar Financing Gap Headlines New AfDB Assessment
Addis Ababa Raises Public Transport Fares
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New Registry Planned to Identify Beneficiaries Behind Ethiopian Businesses
Ethiopia is preparing to establish a registry that will identify the individuals behind companies operating in the country, including those who hold ownership indirectly or benefit from company assets and profits through intermediaries.
The proposed system aims to identify the “beneficial owners” of businesses, individuals who ultimately control or profit from a company, even if their names do not appear in official registration documents.
According to the story by the Ethiopian Reporter, the registry will be overseen by the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration and derives its legal mandate from the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Proclamation. Read more.
Ethiopian Teen Builds YScroll App to Battle Doom Scrolling
When a 16-year-old developer realized he had spent five hours binging YouTube Shorts, he saw an opportunity to create a lasting solution to doom scrolling. His project, YScroll, helps users set daily scrolling limits, track their engagement with short-form video, and become more intentional about their time online. Read more.
Fayda Digital ID Joins EIH Portfolio with Ten Billion Birr Capital
The National ID Program (Fayda) has joined the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) portfolio with an authorised capital of 10 billion Birr and a paid-up capital of 2.5 billion Birr.
The listing places the programme, widely known by its service name Fayda, alongside 40 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) overseen by the holding company, which manages some of Ethiopia’s largest public assets across sectors including finance, telecoms, logistics, and manufacturing. Read more.
Court Ends Account Freeze on Two Payment Gateways
The Federal Supreme Court has instructed the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia to release the bank accounts of AddisPay Financial Technologies and LakiPay Financial Technologies, which had been frozen during an investigation into alleged tax evasion. Read more.
Algorithms and Azmaris: Inside Ethiopia’s AI Music Wave
AI-generated covers of popular Ethiopian songs are gaining millions of views online, as the music production process also begins to evolve at local recording studios.
From viral AI covers to a new national competition inviting creators to reinterpret the legacy of Adwa using generative music tools, the country’s creative sector is exploring the rhythms of algorithmic production. New opportunities have certainly opened while also surfacing new concerns about creativity, authorship, and intellectual property. Read more.
New LakiPay Platform Combines Rental Payments, ERP Tools, and E-Commerce
LakiPay Financial Technologies has launched an integrated digital platform developed in partnership with Oromia International Bank.
The platform bundles several tools aimed at individuals and businesses. These include a property management and rental payment system linking landlords and tenants, an enterprise resource planning system designed for small and medium-sized businesses, and an e-commerce tool that allows merchants to create digital storefronts and interact with customers online. Read more.
Half-Billion Dollar Financing Gap Headlines New AfDB Assessment
Ethiopia has received less than half of the development financing envisioned under the African Development Bank’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for 2023 to 2027, even as the country continues to face easing but still elevated inflation, weak domestic revenue, structural employment challenges, and widespread poverty, according to the bank’s newly released midterm review of the strategy.
The mid-term assessment of the strategy paper by the African Development Bank (AfDB), published last week, shows that only $538.8 million in financing was approved for Ethiopia between 2023 and 2025, far below the $1.114 billion initially in the investment pipeline. Read more.
CBE Secures Land at Ethiopian IT Park for New Data Center
The Information Technology Park Corporation has transferred 23,000 square meters of land to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia under a sub-lease agreement to facilitate the construction of a new data center at the Ethiopian IT Park. Read more.
Addis Ababa Raises Public Transport Fares
Public transportation fares in Addis Ababa have been increased by between five and 20 Birr, with the steepest hike applied to city bus services. Under the new tariff, the maximum bus fare has risen from 50 birr to 70 birr.
The Addis Ababa City Transport Bureau announced the revision on Sunday, March 15, marking the first fare adjustment in about 16 months. The previous increase came in October 2024, when fuel prices stood at 91 birr per liter for gasoline and 90 birr for white diesel. Since then, fuel prices have climbed sharply. Gasoline prices have risen by roughly 41 Birr per liter, while white diesel has increased by about 49 Birr during the period without a tariff revision. Read more.