Two fundamental changes
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by Melaku Kebede

Shift #1 – Banking is no longer the exclusive domain of Banks.
Telcos and Fintechs are now key players delivering financial services. If banks fail to transform into tech-enabled institutions—such as Neo Banks—they risk being replaced. The future belongs to those who integrate technology at their core.

Shift #2 – The behavior and expectations of customers have significantly changed.
Today’s customers demand fast, secure, personalized, and reliable services. They are no longer confined to banks for financial solutions. Just as smart utility devices tailor services based on user lifestyles, banks must leverage data analytics, AI, and data mining to offer highly personalized banking experiences.

In summary:
The marketplace for financial services is evolving beyond traditional banks.

Fintechs and Telcos have emerged as powerful disruptors and alternative platforms, reshaping both the delivery of banking and the customer experience.

Africa’s Worst Raw Export isn’t Iron Ore. It’s Her Daughters.
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In just 9 hours, I flew from Entebbe to Addis Ababa to Ouagadougou. No London layover. No Paris visa hustle. No colonial checkpoint to move between two African countries. That’s progress. President Museveni and his fellow African leaders deserve their flowers for decolonising the air routes of Africa. It’s only 2% of the work, but at least now we can visit our neighbours without first consulting the Queen’s grandchildren.

But while the runways are now African, the cargo remains a heartbreak.

At every airport — Entebbe, Bole, Ouagadougou — the same sad procession. Lines of young African girls, veiled, timid, blank-faced. Not tourists. Not scholars. Not diplomats. Just unprocessed human cargo. Housemaids in transit. Exported like raw coffee. Like we’re still shipping bananas with the peel, while the world sells banana-flavoured ice cream.

We banned raw copper and unrefined timber but forgot to protect the most valuable raw material: our daughters.

On my flight to West Africa, the plane was packed with Chinese engineers, technicians, and chemists. Meanwhile, we, the proud cradle of humanity, are exporting broken dreams and helplessness. Our exports wear hijabs, not headsets. Their luggage carries pain, not patents. And their hearts carry fear, not freedom.

When we export maids, we get back survivors - brave, but often broken. They return with skills that no critical local industry needs. But when we export trained industrial workers, engineers, technicians, nurses, we get back multipliers. Healthy citizens sufficient in skills, ready to plug into our broken systems.

Skilled workers abroad will not just be earning, they’ll be learning. They’ll come back with sharper tools, exposure to new technologies, better work ethics, and cleaner code. They’ll have tested machines, installed systems, managed workflows, and serviced systems that are our future. You plug them into your local industry and — voilà! — instant upgrade.

But what does a maid come back with? Trauma. Culture shock. And sometimes, a suitcase full of regrets.

So while we clap for ourselves for banning raw mineral exports, we must ask: what about our most strategic commodity, our people?

If we’re serious about sovereignty, let’s start with schools. Let’s industrialise our education systems. Export carpenters, masons, coders, and clinicians, not broken dreams wrapped in hijabs.

Because a nation that ships off its women as maids and begs for expat consultants to build its infrastructure isn’t poor, it’s just confused.

Africa isn’t poor. She’s just exporting the wrong people. Let’s process our people first and export smarter.
(Dr Apollo)

@PatternFin

Africa’s Banking Giants: Rankings by Total Assets 🔥

@PatternFin

Did you know there are 4 levels of strategy:

Corporate, business, functional, and operational.

Every leader needs to master them.

@PatternFin

Did you know there are 4 levels of strategy:

Corporate, business, functional, and operational.

Every leader needs to master them.

Strategies can be simple or complex - just like businesses.

But whether you’re running a global company or a small startup, the same core rules apply.

Let’s break it down:

Corporate Strategy

➟ Sets the big-picture direction and long-term vision.
➟ Created by top leadership, focused on high-level planning.
➟ Typically spans 3–5 years, deciding where the company will compete.

Business Strategy

➟ Targets specific business units and their goals.
➟ Involves key choices like differentiation or cost leadership.
➟ Focuses on building competitive advantages in chosen markets.

Functional Strategy

➟ Defines strategies for departments.
➟ Solves specific challenges within each department.
➟ Makes sure each team’s actions align with company-wide goals.

Operational Strategy

➟ Turns strategy into daily execution.
➟ Ensures plans lead to tangible real results.
➟ Focuses on short-term objectives, projects, and processes.

Having a strategy isn’t enough:

You need to cover all levels to actually win.

Master them all, and you’ll turn strategy into results.

P.S. Are you giving each level of strategy the focus it deserves?

♻️ Share with your network so they can master strategy too.

☣️ AI Outsmarts Virus Experts, Raising Biohazard Fears

A study from the Center for AI Safety and SecureBio shows top chatbots now beat PhD virologists at lab problem-solving, raising both hopes for faster research and fears of misuse.

On the 322-question Virology Capabilities Test, OpenAI's o3 answered 43.8 % correctly, nearly doubling the human average of 22.1 %. Moreover, o3 performed better on the test than 95% of test-takers; Claude 3.5 Sonnet beats 75% of humans.

Because these skills could be weaponized, the authors urge limiting public access and adding strict "know-your-customer" checks.

@PatternFin

Who are the World’s Biggest Exporters?

From tech to textiles, energy to electronics — global trade flows are constantly shifting. Here’s a look at the countries leading the world in exports:
1. 🇨🇳China – Dominating global manufacturing and electronics
2. 🇺🇸United States – Strong in aircraft, machinery, and services
3. 🇩🇪Germany – A powerhouse in automobiles and industrial equipment
4. 🇳🇱Netherlands – A surprising leader, thanks to logistics and re-exports
5. 🇯🇵Japan – Known for vehicles, semiconductors, and precision equipment

Trade data tells a story — of innovation, infrastructure, and global influence.

@PatternFin

ከኢትዮ ቴሌኮም የአክሲዮን ሽያጭ የተገነዘብኩት
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ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም 100 ሚሊየን ሼር በመሸጥ 30 ቢሊየን ለማግኘት አስቦ 3.2 ቢሊየን ብር ሰብስቧል። ሽያጩን ለ121 ቀን ቢያራዝመውም ካሰበው 10.7% ገደማ ብቻ ነው የሸጠው።

በነገራችን ላይ በፕሮፔክተሱ ላይ በግልፅ በተጠቀሰው መሰረት የሼሩ “ፓር” ዋጋ 100 ብር ነው። ይህ ማለት ከአጠቃላይ ሽያጩ 3.2ቢሊየኑ ወደ 1 ቢሊየኑ የባለ አክሲየኖች ድርሻ ተብሎ ሲያዝ 2 ቢሊየኑን ቴሌ እንደ ገቢ ይይዘዋል ማለት ነው።

ለምሳሌ አንድ ሰው ዝቅተኛውን 33 ሼር በ 9,900 ብር ሲገዛ የሚሰጠው የድርሻ ሰርተፍኬት የ 3,300 ብር የሚል ነው። ትርፍም የሚሰላለት በዛው ነው። 6,600 ብሩ “ትርፋማውን” የቴሌ ሼር ለማግኘት ያወጣው ወጪ ነው።

አሁን ባለው ሁኔታ ከ400ቢሊየን የተፈቀደ ካፒታሉ 100ቢሊየኑን ቴሌ በአይነት እና በብር የያዘ ሲሆን 1 ቢሊየኑን ሼር ሆልደሮች ይይዙታል ማለት ነው። እስከ 10% የታሰበው ድርሻቸው 1% ይሆናል ማለት ነው።

እንደ እኔ ግንዛቤ ኢትዮ ቴሌኮም በትራንዛክሽኑ በጣም ተጠቃሚ ነው። የሚያጋራው የትርፉን 1% ነው። 2 ቢሊየን ብር እንደ ገቢ ወይንም ካፒታል ማሳደጊያ በሂደቱ ገቢ አድርጓል።

እንደ አጠቃላይ

ከካፒታል ገበያው አላማዎች አንዱ ትናንሽ ብር ያላቸው ሰዎችን ወደ ኢንቨስትመንት መሳብ እና የብር እጥረት ያለባቸው ፕሮጀክቶችን ማስቻል ነው። በዚህ አንፃር ካየነው 47,377 ሰዎች ኢንቨስት ማድረጋቸው እንደ አጠቃላይ የካፒታል ገበያው ተስፋ እንዳለው ያመላክታል። በአንፃሩም እንደ መጀመሪያ ልምድ ቶሎ ትርፍ ጠብቀው የገዙ ካሉና እና ያሰቡት ባይሆን ሌላ ሼር የመግዛት ተነሳሽነታቸው ላይ ተፅዕኖ ሊኖረው ይችላል።

Via Aminu Surur

የአፍሪካ ልማት ባንክ 40 ሚሊዮን ዶላር የሚጠጋ ዋስትና ለዳሽን ባንክ ሰጠ

የአፍሪካ ልማት ባንክ የኢትዮጵያን ንግድ ለማሳደግ ዳሸን ባንክን የሚያግዝ የ40 ሚሊዮን የአሜሪካን ዶላር የንግድ ፋይናንስ ዋስትና ስምምነት ተፈራርሟል።

ይህ የዋስትና መስጫ ዳሸን ባንክ የማስመጣት እና የመላክ ንግድ ፋይናንስ ፍላጎቶችን እንዲያመቻች በማስቻል የባንኩን የኢትዮጵያን ኢኮኖሚ ወሳኝ ዘርፎች የመደገፍ አቅም ያሳድጋል።

እንዲሁም የአፍሪካ አህጉራዊ ነፃ የንግድ ቀጠና (AfCFTA) አጀንዳን በመደገፍ በአፍሪካ ውስጥ ያለውን ንግድ ያበረታታል ተብሏል።

የአፍዴብ ምክትል ዋና ዳይሬክተር ዶክተር ሊአንድሬ ባሶል ይህ ታሪካዊ ግብይት ዳሸን ባንክ የንግድ፣ አነስተኛና መካከለኛ ኢንተርፕራይዞችን እና የአገር ውስጥ ኩባንያዎችን በፋይናንስ በመደገፍ ረገድ ያለውን መልካም ስም የሚያሳይ ነው ብለዋል።

ይህ ስምምነት በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ላለ የግል ባንክ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የተሰጠ መሆኑ ለመረዳት ተችሏል።

ይህ የዋስትና መስጫ በተለይም እንደ ማዳበሪያ፣ መድኃኒት እና የእርሻ መሣሪያዎች ያሉ አስፈላጊ ዕቃዎችን ለማስገባት ድጋፍ ያደርጋል ተብሎ ይጠበቃል። #Capital

Comparison between 🇰🇪 & 🇪🇹 banks.

@PatternFin

E𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮 𝗧𝗼 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘄

The Council of Ministers has approved a draft law that would allow foreigners to own immovable property—part of a broader effort to attract foreign capital, expand housing access, and spur job creation. The Council also ratified major international agreements, including interest-free development loans from Italy and the World Bank, Ethiopia’s accession to the African Finance Corporation, and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area tariff reduction. A new air transport deal with Austria and updated service fee regulations were also approved.
Via #EBR

@PatternFin

ኢትዮጵያ አባል በሆነችው ብሪክስ የንግድ ልውውጥ ከዶላር እየራቀ 65 በመቶ በብሔራዊ ገንዘቦች ተከናወነ

የሩሲያው የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ሰርጌ ላቭሮቭ እንዳስታወቁት ኢትዮጵያን ጨምሮ አባል የሆኑት የብሪክስ አገራት (ብራዚል፣ ሩሲያ፣ ህንድ፣ ቻይና፣ ደቡብ አፍሪካ፣ ግብፅ፣ ኢንዶኔዢያ፣ ኢራን እና የተባበሩት አረብ ኤሚሬቶች) በንግድ ልውውጣቸው ከአሜሪካ ዶላር እየራቁ ሲሆን ከ65 በመቶ በላይ የሚሆነው ንግድ አሁን በአባል አገራቱ ብሔራዊ ገንዘቦች እየተከናወነ ነው።

ሚኒስትሩ ይህንን ያሉት በብራዚል በተካሄደው የብሪክስ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትሮች ስብሰባ ማጠቃለያ ላይ በሰጡት መግለጫ ሲሆን፣ ይህ አዝማሚያ ቡድኑ በፋይናንስ ረገድ ያለውን ነፃነት ለማጠናከር ያለውን ቁርጠኝነት ያሳያል ብለዋል።

ላቭሮቭ አክለውም "BRICS Pay" የተባለ ገለልተኛ የክፍያ ስርዓት ለመመስረት የሚደረጉ ውይይቶች እየተሻሻሉ መሆናቸውን ጠቁመዋል። በተጨማሪም የBRICS የገንዘብ ሚኒስትሮች እና የማዕከላዊ ባንክ ገዥዎች በካዛን ጉባኤ በተሰጠው መመሪያ መሠረት በጋራ ንግድ ውስጥ ብሔራዊ ገንዘቦችን በንቃት ለመጠቀም ተስማምተዋል።

ይህ እርምጃ ብሪክስ በምዕራባውያን የገንዘብ ስርዓቶች ላይ ያለውን ጥገኝነት ለመቀነስ የፋይናንስ መሠረተ ልማት ለመገንባት የሚያደርገውን የጋራ ጥረት ያሳያል።

በቅርቡ ኢትዮጵያ ለአዲሱ የልማት ባንክ (ቀደም ሲል የብሪክስ ልማት ባንክ በመባል ይታወቅ የነበረው) በይፋ አባልነት ለመቀላቀል ማመልከቻ ማስገባቷና የዚህ ሂደት በቅርቡ እንደሚጠናቀቅ ገልፃ እንደነበር ይታወሳል። #Capital

𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟲𝟬 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘅 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The NBE has announced its fifth foreign exchange auction under the country’s ongoing market-based currency reform, with USD60 million set to be offered to commercial banks on Tomorrow, May 7, 2025.

The bi-weekly auction—part of NBE’s broader strategy to enhance foreign exchange transparency, reduce black market dependency, and stabilize the Birr—continues the central bank’s shift toward more predictable and competitive currency allocation mechanisms.

According to the notice, banks are invited to submit their bids electronically between 10:00 AM and 12:00 noon, with results expected to be announced by 5:00 PM the same day. The settlement will be finalized by close of business on May 7.

This auction follows last month's USD70 million round, which met 96% of banks' demand and marked a strong stride toward stabilizing forex flows through formal channels. #EBR

@PatternFin

Microsoft Shuts Down Skype After 23 Years

Microsoft officially retired Skype on May 5, 2025, ending the pioneering video-calling service's 23-year run as the company shifts its focus to Microsoft Teams. Skype first launched in Tallinn, Estonia, on August 29, 2003, when a six-person team from Estonia, Sweden and Denmark introduced what would become a communications revolution.

In May 2011, Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for Skype—its largest acquisition at the time—building on an active-user base of 170 million. The service's monthly active users swelled to roughly 300 million at its 2013–2016 peak, marking the high point of a journey that began with just 10,000 downloads on day one. Yet by 2021, Zoom had captured nearly half the market while Skype’s share had slipped to about 6 percent.

@PatternFin

Fuel price update!