Shega Media

16/07/2026

The most ambitious mobility transitions in the world, and in some ways, it is already succeeding.

EVs accounted for more than 60% of new registrations in 2024, surpassing most advanced economies. A momentum anchored in the government’s E-Mobility Strategy, which pairs clear targets with decisive policy, including effectively restricting internal combustion engine imports.

But beneath this progress lies a more complex reality: the transition is moving faster than the systems required to sustain it.

The constraint is not generation but rather distribution. Only about 22% of households have a formal grid connection, and reliability remains uneven, limiting the viability of large-scale electrification.

The direction is sound. But sequencing, across grids, markets, and financing, remains a considerable challenge.

Full analysis and Interactive dashboards 👇

Ethiopia banned petrol car imports in 2024. EVs are now 60%+ of new registrations. But only 22% of households have a metered grid connection, and just 27% will by 2030.

02/07/2026

𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗶𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁.

Two decades back, cooking oil in Addis Ababa was pressed from noug in small neighborhood enterprises and sold at shops loose by the bottle. Then refined oil became standard, cheap imported palm oil flooded in, and the local press faded.

Now small-scale oil production is returning, powered by pressing machines that start at a fraction of factory-scale cost and a growing trade on TikTok. But a mandatory requirement that loose oil cannot easily meet still hangs over the revival.

Shega examines who is pressing, who is buying, and what could shut it down again.

https://shega.co/news/ethiopia-s-small-oil-producers-are-coming-back

29/06/2026

What does it take for technology in education to actually work for everyone?

As digital tools continue to enter Ethiopian classrooms, the conversation is shifting. The challenge is no longer just access; it is alignment: aligning technology with curriculum, teacher capacity, and the diverse needs of learners, including students with disabilities.

The June 2026 edition of EdTech Mondays Ethiopia explores how to move beyond fragmented deployments toward a more coordinated, system-wide approach.

A key focus will be inclusivity. As digital learning expands, ensuring accessibility for all learners is not optional; it is foundational. This includes accessible design, localized content, and equipping teachers to support diverse classroom needs.

📻 Tune in: June 29, 2026 | 8:10 PM EAT
Fana FM 98.1 and nationwide affiliates

Read more.

The June 2026 edition of EdTech Mondays Ethiopia explores how to move beyond fragmented deployments toward a more coordinated, system-wide approach. At the center of the discussion is how digital tools can be embedded into everyday teaching and learning—supported by clear standards, defined stakeh...

24/06/2026

Issue 244: Unanchored

The latest edition of Shega Weekly examines

📊 A record budget that shrinks under dollar conversion

🔍 Federal auditors’ flag systemic mismanagement as outgoing MPs demand accountability

⚡ Africa's hydrogen pipeline stalls

⚠️ Overnight regulatory shifts are pushing businesses into short-term survival mode

🛣️ World Bank raises its commitment to the Djibouti–Addis Ababa corridor to $205mn

🏙️ Addis Abeba's cabinet approves a 502bn Birr city budget

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲

Top Stories of the Week

01/06/2026

If you invest, operate, or advise in Ethiopia, May 2026 was not incremental; it was structural.

Shega has just published the second edition of Policy Monitor, our monthly intelligence brief tracking the legislative and regulatory shifts shaping the country’s operating environment. This month spans eight distinct fronts, each pointing to a system under active redesign:

• Tax administration is set to enter a new phase: voluntary mediation, a 10-year fraud look-back, and conditional clearance that allows firms to operate while disputes are unresolved

• A first-ever critical infrastructure cybersecurity regime introduces 48-hour breach reporting, INSA-led oversight, and criminal liability for failures with real-world consequences

• Customs rules are set to tighten and evolve simultaneously, software valuation clarified, related-party scrutiny increased, and a 50% prepayment threshold imposed on appeals are being floated in a new draft.

• A draft Freedom of Information law proposes a statutory right to access public data, backed by Ombudsman oversight and proactive disclosure obligations

• Capital markets deepen as banks and pension funds are admitted directly into the OTC debt market, expanding the institutional investor base

• Aviation security is centralized under a single authority, reflecting Ethiopia’s role as a continental hub and the scale of its future airport infrastructure

• Alongside reforms in cooperatives and health regulation, the cumulative signal is unmistakable: governance architecture is being retooled in real time

What emerges is not a series of isolated reforms, but a coordinated, if uneven, attempt to close institutional gaps: compliance, transparency, enforcement capacity, and market depth.

Policy Monitor is built for this moment. Each edition distils what changed, why it matters in practice, and what to watch next.

Because in environments like this, the question is no longer what happened; it is how quickly you can interpret the direction of travel.

Full document:

If you invest, operate, or advise in Ethiopia, May 2026 was not incremental; it was structural. Shega has just published the second edition of Policy Monitor, our monthly intelligence brief tracking the legislative and regulatory shifts shaping the country’s operating environment. This month spans...

19/05/2026

𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁: 𝗘𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗮’𝘀 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹

At Etege Menen Girls’ Boarding School in Addis Ababa, students are using E-Temari to access interactive lessons, practice university entrance exam questions, and monitor their academic progress.

The platform is already showing measurable results. But scaling EdTech in Ethiopia’s public school system remains difficult. Public schools, unlike private institutions, operate under tightly controlled financial and administrative systems.

Read the full story.

Partner Content

A partnership between E-Temari and Etege Menen Girls’ School offers a glimpse into how locally built EdTech solutions could transform Ethiopia’s education system.

15/05/2026

Climate shocks aren't a widespread problem for MSMEs across Addis Ababa. But in the neighborhoods where they hit, they can be devastating, especially for women entrepreneurs. The damage rarely makes headlines or triggers humanitarian responses.

But a new study by the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI), an independent think tank housed at Accion, documents how repeated, localized climate shocks are quietly eroding the livelihoods of women running small businesses in the most exposed corners of Ethiopia's cities.

Climate shocks aren't a widespread MSME problem across Addis Ababa. But in the neighborhoods where they hit, they can be devastating, especially for women entrepreneurs.

08/05/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

As Ethiopia marks Infrastructure and Construction Week 2026, the national dialogue has evolved from traditional brick-and-mortar development towards a more sophisticated blueprint known as the Construction Industry Transformation of Ethiopia 2025–2050.

While physical structures define the horizon, their operational intelligence now relies on silicon and fiber. At the heart of this transformation is Ethio telecom.

Discover how Ethio telecom driving Ethiopia’s digital infrastructure transformation with 5G, AI, cloud services, smart city tools, and green innovation.

Partner Content
https://shega.co/news/the-digital-engine-behind-ethiopia-s-infrastructure-and-construction-renaissance

08/05/2026

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺: 𝗕𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲'𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸

When Binance announced in late April that it would disable Ethiopian Birr trading on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform effective May 15, 2026, it marked a consequential step in a months-long squeeze on crypto P2P activity in Ethiopia.

Shega's Kaleab Girma sat down with Larry Cooke, Binance Africa Legal Head, during his visit to Addis Ababa as part of ongoing consultations with Ethiopian regulators.

Larry spoke on a wide range of issues, from what led to the delisting and what Binance told the central bank to what comes next.

"The parallel market is something that existed before Binance," Larry says, pushing back against the narrative that crypto platforms are destabilizing the Birr.

Furthermore, the discussion alluded to broader questions around IMF recommendations on P2P, currency sovereignty, and regional comparisons.

Binance's Africa Legal Head Larry Cooke speaks to Shega on the Ethiopian Birr P2P delisting, regulatory negotiations in Addis Ababa, the parallel market debate, and what comes next for crypto users in Ethiopia.

30/04/2026

𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗘-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Ethiopia’s digital economy is at a critical point, with online commerce emerging as a key driver of growth.

Rising internet access, increased smartphone use, and the expansion of digital payment solutions are changing how consumers and businesses interact.

ICE CONNECT 2026 E-commerce Summit, scheduled on the 7th of May, is designed to bring this momentum together by creating a platform for stakeholders to align, collaborate, and move the ecosystem forward.

The summit brings together entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, and policymakers to explore solutions across the full e-commerce value chain.

Read more about ICE CONNECT 2026: https://shorturl.at/xcLIp

Register to attend the Summit: https://nuel.ink/GL3ENF

Partner Content

ICE CONNECT 2026, happening May 7, brings together startups, investors, and policymakers to explore solutions, initiate collaboration, and accelerate the country’s e-commerce ecosystem.