UK Deputy PM Secures USD598 Million Investment Deal in Ethiopia Amid Political Criticism

UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has concluded a high-profile visit to Ethiopia, securing a USD 598 million investment agreement to bolster trade and economic cooperation between the two nations. The Times reports that the deal, backed by British private equity firms, will inject capital into Ethiopia’s infrastructure, manufacturing, and financial sectors as the country progresses with market liberalisation.

Rayner met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and senior officials to discuss trade expansion, financial market development, and regional cooperation. The visit comes at a pivotal moment for Ethiopia, which launched the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) on January 10 and is intensifying efforts to integrate into the global economy through its bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). British firms are well-positioned to capitalise on these developments, with increasing interest in Ethiopia’s evolving financial landscape.

Beyond investment and trade, discussions also centred on technological collaboration, particularly in artificial intelligence. The UK has been at the forefront of AI development, and Ethiopia’s ambitions in digital transformation offer potential avenues for joint initiatives.

However, Rayner’s diplomatic engagement has not gone without controversy. According to the Times, critics within the Conservative Party have questioned the timing of her visit, arguing that she should prioritise domestic economic challenges, including housing and local governance reforms. No. 10 defended the trip, asserting that strengthening UK-Ethiopia ties is a strategic priority that will benefit British businesses and enhance the UK’s global economic footprint.

#EBR

@PatternFin

Aman & Partners authored the Ethiopia legal section of "Trends and Developments 2025" in the Chambers and Partners publication.

Current legal issues covered include banking sector liberalization, currency floating, capital market, joint venture with EIH, PPP, new VAT legislation, among others.

@PatternFin

Financial inclusion in Africa often turns into financial extraction.

That's according to Dr. Milford Bateman, a development studies and economics professor who researches & teaches internationally about the economics of development.

@PatternFin

Financial inclusion in Africa often turns into financial extraction.

That's according to Dr. Milford Bateman, a development studies and economics professor who researches & teaches internationally about the economics of development.

"Many innovations, including financial innovations, start out as beneficial to the poor. But the problems start, in general, when such financial innovations are then commercialized and privatized," he notes.

"Once private fintech corporations conquer a critical customer base and become oligopolists, or even monopolists — which is the ultimate goal of their scalable data-driven business models — the situation radically changes."

According to Bateman, Africa offers a prime example.

"M-PESA Africa was started with the help of the UK’s international development agency and everyone involved professed to having good intentions; they hoped that M-Pesa would be 'a great way of helping Kenya’s poor.'"

So the mobile money platform launched as a significantly cheaper alternative to informal money transfers, genuinely helping lower-income Kenyans move money.

But, in Bateman's view, market dominance changed everything:

• M-Pesa started with more affordable transfers, resulting in a dominant market position

• Began increasing fees soon after, reaching up to 20% for sending small amounts

• Only reduced fees during COVID when forced by government intervention

• Continued paying large dividends to foreign investors during the pandemic

• Profits became prioritized over financial inclusion

• Local entrepreneurs increasingly view M-Pesa as stifling fintech innovation, not enabling it

"The poor are no longer the beneficiaries of financial innovation, but increasingly its hapless victims," Bateman argues.

And he notes that, "To an extent, the Kenyan government since around 2020 has begun to try to rein in [M-Pesa parent company] Safaricom."

This raises important questions about fintech's role in financial inclusion on the continent, and the tech ecosystem's role in development more broadly:

Are sustainable solutions that genuinely benefit Africa's underserved being built? Or just new forms of value extraction?

Without the right guardrails in place, what's meant as inclusion can easily become extraction.

Good intentions aren't enough.

#Afridigest

@PatternFin

Ali Hussein (#ALITALKSTECH) reacts on the article published by #Milford_Bateman

I read this piece by Milford Bateman with interest and chagrin.

📢 It's time we challenge the negative narrative about fintech and microfinance in Africa! 🌍

This article, once again, positions Westerners as "experts" on African economic issues. Let's set the record straight:

🚫 No more overgeneralizations about diverse African economies
🚫 No more ignoring African voices and innovations
🚫 No more overlooking local context and success stories

Here's what's really happening:

✅ African-led fintech is revolutionizing financial inclusion (M-Pesa, anyone? 📱💰)
✅ Local entrepreneurs are tailoring solutions to unique market needs
✅ African governments are actively shaping regulations to benefit their citizens

It's high time we amplify African perspectives in these discussions. We're not just subjects of Western analysis – we're innovators, regulators, and drivers of our own economic future.

Let's celebrate our successes, acknowledge our challenges, and most importantly, tell our own stories. 🗣

African fintech is diverse, dynamic, and determined. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! 💪🏾
(Ali Hussein)

@PatternFin

አሊባባ በኢትዮጵያ በብር ክፍያ ከነገ ጀምሮ መቀበል ሊጀም መሆኑን አሳወቀ

አለም አቀፉ ግዙፍ የኤሌክትሮኒክስ ግብይት ተቋም አሊባባ፣ ከሰኞ የካቲት 17 ቀን 2017 ዓ.ም ጀምሮ በኢትዮጵያ በብር ክፍያ መቀበል እንደሚጀመር አሳዉቋል።

ይህ እርምጃ ኢትዮጵያውያን በአሊ ኤክስፕረስ ላይ በቀላሉና በአገር ውስጥ ገንዘባቸው እንዲገበያዩ ያስችላቸዋል።

አሊባባ ይህን ውሳኔ የወሰነው ለአፍሪካ ተጠቃሚዎች ይበልጥ ተደራሽ ለመሆንና በዓለም አቀፍ የክሬዲት ካርዶችና የውጭ ምንዛሬ ላይ ያለውን ጥገኝነት ለመቀነስ በማሰብ ነው ተብሏል። ይህ እርምጃ በአለም አቀፍ የክፍያ ስርዓት ምክንያት ለአፍሪካውያን ትልቅ እንቅፋት የነበረውን ችግር ለመቅረፍ ያለመ መሆኑም ተሰምቷል።

ይህም ማለት አሁን ኢትዮጵያውያን በአሊ ኤክስፕረስ ላይ የተለያዩ እቃዎችን ሲገዙ በብር ገንዘባቸው ክፍያ መፈጸም ይችላሉ። አሊባባ ይህን ለማሳካት በኢትዮጵያ ካሉ የዲጂታል ክፍያ አገልግሎት ሰጪዎች ጋር ትብብር መፍጠሩን አስታውቋል። #Capital

@PatternFin

ኢትዮጵያ በዚህ ወር መጨረሻ የዓለም ንግድ ድርጅት አባልነት ለማግኘት ወሳኝ ድርድር  ልታደርግ ነዉ

ኢትዮጵያ የዓለም ንግድ ድርጅት  አባል ለመሆን ያላት የረዥም ጊዜ ምኞት ወደ ፍጻሜው እየተቃረበ ሲሆን፣ ቀጣዩ የድርድር ዙር በየካቲት መጨረሻ ወይም በመጋቢት መጀመሪያ ላይ ይካሄዳል።

ኢትዮጵያ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የዓለም ንግድ ድርጅት አባልነትን እኤአ በ2003 ያቀረበች ሲሆን፣ ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ የድርጅቱን ጥብቅ መስፈርቶች ለማሟላት ሰፊ የኢኮኖሚ እና የንግድ ፖሊሲ ማሻሻያዎችን አድርጋለች።

በጄኔቫ የሚካሄደው የድርድር ዙር የገበያ ተደራሽነት ግዴታዎችን እና የሀገር ውስጥ የቁጥጥር ማስተካከያዎችን ጨምሮ ዋና ዋና የውድድር ኮንትራቶችን በማጠናቀቅ ላይ ያተኩራል ተብሏል።

የንግድ ባለሙያዎች እና የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት ሂደቱ ተስፋ ሰጪ እንደሆነ ገልጸዋል። የንግድ እና ቀጠናዊ ትስስር ሚኒስትር ዴኤታ ወ/ሮ ያስሚን ወሃብረቢ እንደገለጹት፣ "ይህ የዓለም ንግድ ድርጅት አባልነት ለኢትዮጵያ ኢኮኖሚዋን ለማጠናከር እና የውጭ ኢንቨስትመንትን ለመሳብ ታሪካዊ እድል ነው።

Digital Financial Services is serving the agricultural sector by providing credit, insurance, and payment solutions through key players from the private sector, government, and development partners. However, given the agriculture sector's major contribution to the economy, there is still a need for further expansion and enhancement to better support the sector. #Akofada

@PatternFin

China 🇨🇳 versus World Manufacturing Output

@PatternFin

ብሔራዊ ባንክ አንድ የአሜሪካ ዶላር በአማካይ 135 ብር ዋጋ መሸጡን አስታወቀ

የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ባንክ ዛሬ ባካሄደው ልዩ የውጭ ምንዛሪ ጨረታ ውጤት መሰረት፣ የአንድ የአሜሪካ ዶላር አማካይ የምንዛሪ ዋጋ 135 ነጥብ 6185 ብር መሆኑን ይፋ አደረገ።

በዚህ ጨረታ 27 ባንኮች የተሳተፉ ሲሆን፣ ብሔራዊ ባንክ ከፍተኛ ቁጥር ያለው ተሳትፎ መኖሩን ገልጿል። ባንኩ አክሎም አስፈላጊ ሆኖ ሲገኝና ከዋጋና ከውጭ ምንዛሪ መረጋጋት ጋር በሚስማማ መልኩ ተጨማሪ ጨረታዎችን እንደሚያካሂድ አስታውቋል።

ይህ የውጭ ምንዛሪ ጨረታ የገንዘብ ገበያውን ለማረጋጋትና የውጭ ምንዛሪ ተገኝነትን ለማሻሻል የሚደረገው ጥረት አካል መሆኑ ተጠቁሟል።

የማክሮ ኢኮኖሚ ማሻሻያ ወደ ትግበራ ከገባ ካለፈው ሐምሌ 22 ቀን 2016 ዓ.ም አንስቶ የአሁን የውጭ ምንዛሬ ሽያጭ ጨረታ ሲወጣ ለ2ኛ ጊዜ መሆኑ ይታወቃል ።

በዚህም በመጀመሪያዉ ዙር የውጭ ምንዛሬ ጨረታ፣ አንድ የአሜሪካ ዶላር በአማካይ በ107 ነጥብ 9 ብር ዋጋ መሸጡን እና 27 ባንኮች በጨረታው ላይ መሳተፋቸውን ገልፆ ነበር። #Capital

@PatternFin

National Bank of Ethiopia sold
1 USD = 135.6185

Commercial Banks selling rate
1 USD ~ 129 (Highest)

በስንት ሊሸጡት ነው? 🤔

According to NBE's draft directive, a bank shall, on an ongoing basis, meet the following requirements to be able to open a branch and operate a banking business in a special economic zone (SEZ):
👉 A market share of at least two percent of the total assets of the banking sector;
👉 The capital adequacy ratio of two percentage points higher than the minimum requirement for the last four consecutive quarters;
👉 Liquidity ratio of three percentage points above the minimum liquidity requirement the last three consecutive months; and
👉 Non-performing loans ratio not exceeding the 5% maximum regulatory requirement stated under Directive No. SBB/90/2024 (and the amendments thereof) for the last four consecutive quarters.

Banks currently operating in SEZs are required to comply with the requirements of the new draft directive within one year failure of which may result in relocation or closure of the branch.

@PatternFin

ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም የእንሰሳት አርቢዎች "የብድር እና የኢንሹራንስ አገልግሎት" በቀላሉ ማግኘት የሚያስችላቸውን ቴክኖሎጂ ወደ ስራ ማስገባቱን አስታወቀ

በኢትዮጵያ ቀዳሚው የቴሌኮም አገልግሎት አቅራቢ የሆነው ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም የድርጅት ደንበኞችን እና ተቋማትን አቅም የሚገነቡ እና የሚያዘምኑ በክላውድ አገልግሎት ላይ የተመሰረቱ የዲጂታል ሶሉሽኖችን ይፋ አደርጓል።

ከእነዚህም መካከል አንዱ ትኩረት የሚስብ የዲጂታል ላይቭስቶክ ትራኪንግ (የእንስሳት ዲጂታል ክትትል) ሲሆን፣ ይህ ሶሉሽን የእንስሳት እርባታን ዘመናዊ በማድረግ እና ምርታማነትን በማሳደግ ረገድ ትልቅ ሚና ይጫወታል ተብሏል።

የተቋሙ ዋና ስራ አስፈፃሚ ፍሬህይወት ታምሩ እንደተናገሩት ይህን ቴክኖሎጂ በመጠቀም ገበሬዎች እና እንስሳት አርቢዎች የከብቶቻቸውን እንቅስቃሴ እና ጤና መከታተል፣ እንዲሁም የብድር እና የኢንሹራንስ አገልግሎቶችን ማግኘት ይችላሉ።

ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም በክላውድ ላይ የተመሰረቱ 7 አዳዲስ የዲጂታል ሶሉሽኖችን ይፋ ማድረጉ ድርጅቶች የራሳቸውን መሠረተ ልማት ሳይገነቡ የኢትዮ ቴሌኮም ኢንተርኔትን በመጠቀም ሰርቨሮችን፣ የመረጃ ቋቶችን፣ ሶፍትዌሮችን እና ሌሎች ኔትወርኮችን እንዲያገኙ ያስችላቸዋል መባሉን ካፒታል ሰምቷል።

@PatternFin

የኢትዮጵያ ምርት ገበያ አዲስ ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ ሾመ

የኢትዮጵያ ምርት ገበያ የዳይሬክተሮች ቦርድ አቶ መርጊያ ባይሳን የኢትዮጵያ ምርት ገበያ ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ አድርጎ ሾሟል።

አቶ መርጊያ በተቋሙ ውስጥ ከምስረታው ጀምሮ በተለያዩ የኃላፊነት ቦታዎች ያገለገሉ ሲሆን፣ ለሰባት ዓመታትም ምክትል ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ እንደነበሩ ተጠቁሟል።

በተጨማሪም ቦርዱ ወ/ሪት ቅድስት ስጦታውን በገበያና ግብይት ዘርፍ ምክትል ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ፣ እንዲሁም አቶ ታምራት ተሰማን በመጋዘንና ጥራት ዘርፍ ምክትል ዋና ሥራ አስፈጻሚ አድርጎ ሾሟል።
#Capital

@PatternFin

Private Equity (PE)
Key Concepts and Terms

@PatternFin