Safaricom Ethiopia has officially launched its commercial operations in the Tigray region, marking a major step in the company’s mission to deliver reliable network services across the country.

The expansion into Tigray will be executed in two phases. In the first phase, Safaricom has constructed 125 self-built towers, with plans to erect an additional 166 towers in the second phase to reach the remaining cities in the region.

“Today marks the official launch of the first phase, with the second phase into Northern and Western Tigray already starting,” stated Safaricom CEO Wim Vanhelleputte.

The guest of honor at the launch ceremony, Getachew Reda, the President of the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray, hailed the occasion as “the most exciting milestone in Tigray since the return of social services to the region.” He reiterated his administration’s support for Safaricom’s endeavors in the area.

Safaricom’s phased approach ensures the company is building an independent, state-of-the-art 4G network that is 5G ready, providing Tigray’s residents with seamless connectivity. The network will seamlessly connect to the Global Mobile Network and is interconnected with other service providers in Ethiopia, enabling effortless communication for users.

After an eight-week call for applications, Reach for Change Ethiopia has today announced the first cohort of 12 EdTech entrepreneurs who will join the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship.

The Fellowship program is part of a partnership between Reach for Change and the Mastercard Foundation to provide the selected EdTech enterprises with critical business and financial support and insight into the science of learning, preparing them for scale, sustainability, and impact.

“We believe that the 12 EdTech Fellows have the potential to transform education and create opportunities for millions of young learners in Ethiopia. In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, we are ready to support these Fellows in scaling their innovative and inclusive EdTech products and solutions to bridge the education gaps of young learners in Ethiopia.

The African Development Bank Group and the government of Ethiopia, in partnership with the Netherlands, fertilizer company OCP-Africa, and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), have launched an ambitious project to transform Ethiopia from a wheat importer to a self-sufficient producer and exporter.

The total cost of the Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development (CREW) Project is $94 million. The African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group, is providing a grant of $54 million. The Netherlands will contribute a grant of $20 million, while OCP-Africa and the Government of Ethiopia will each provide grants of $10 million. Additionally, the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) will extend a grant of $300,000 for the project as part of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program initiative (AAAP). AAAP is integrating climate risk assessment and digital adaptation solutions into the wheat value chain, supporting capacity building through deployment of digital climate advisory services (DCAS),  and co-designing digital adaptation solutions in a wheat farmer registration system.

The financing will support 500,000 smallholder farmer households in the Ethiopian states of Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali, to increase wheat productivity from three  to four tons per hectare, generating an additional 1.62 million tons of wheat.

The United States government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the USAID Urban TB Local Organizations Network II Activity, a five year, $8 million (450 million Birr) flagship project to control and prevent Tuberculosis (TB) and Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) in selected urban regions of Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Shaggar City in the Oromia region, and Harari National Regional State. Karen Koprince, Acting USAID/Ethiopia Health Office Director, together with His Excellency Dr. Dereje Duguma, State Minister of Health, and Artist Alemayehu Tadesse, Goodwill Ambassador for the project, launched the project in the Mekedonia Shelter for the Elderly, who are beneficiaries of this project.

The project will provide comprehensive support to the people and Government of Ethiopia to achieve the United Nations High Level declaration targets of ending TB by 2030 by detecting at least 95 percent of TB and DR-TB cases, successfully treating 95 percent of detected TB and DR-TB patients, preventing TB infection and progression to TB disease, and building a resilient urban TB system.