Wednesday, October 1, 2025
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Becoming proactive

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Some years ago, the organization I worked for, hosted a workshop in Ethiopia, for teams from several countries, including Ethiopia. The Ethiopia team, of which I was a member, was assigned to host and organize the workshop. We decided to include a less formal agenda in between all the presentations, group work and plenary sessions. As all participating countries happened to produce coffee, we decided to organize a coffee tasting competition. Each team was to bring coffee from their country, display it, brew it and prepare it for tasting by an independent jury.

The competition was planned for the evening of the first day of the workshop and promised to be an exciting ice breaker. Participants were already boasting about the quality of their nation’s coffee, not in the least the Ethiopians, who reminded all that coffee originated from Ethiopia after all.

As the afternoon progressed, packaged export quality coffee from the other countries was already brought to the meeting room and it is then that the Ethiopia team began thinking about preparing for the competition. They had not brought any coffee yet as they were confident that the coffee they needed could be bought from any shop nearby the venue of the workshop. Two members of the team were sent to purchase one kilo of coffee. There were no supermarkets nearby, only small shops, who sold green beans amongst everything else that is normally sold in small suks. There was no choice and neither did the purchasers know much about what good quality green coffee beans should look like. So, they bought a kilo of whatever coffee beans were available and brought it back to the hotel, together with some charcoal and incense. When the time of the competition was approaching, the Ethiopian coffee ceremony was well underway, and the team was confident they would win! What could possibly go wrong?

The other teams now began brewing their coffee as well, and the meeting hall was soon filled with a mixture of coffee aroma’s, drawing the attention from hotel workers, management and other guests.

Members of the jury were now invited to taste the coffee, much like experts taste wine: smelling, taking a sip, tasting, spitting it out, and on to the next cup. Results were written on individual scorecards and added to arrive at the final result. The Ethiopian coffee ended last! What went wrong? Well, in the first place, the competition was about the quality of the coffee, not the ceremony! In other words, the team did not focus on the actual assignment, on what was exactly expected. And as a result, too much attention was paid to secondary elements and too little attention was paid to the preparations and requirements for a good result. Also, the team underestimated the capacity of the other teams, the competition, who had done their homework well and were prepared to give it their best. The Ethiopia team instead was ill prepared, relied on their routine and were not effective in their execution.

Let us take this conclusion a bit further to corporate effectiveness.

For any team, organization or company to be effective it is important that mission, goals and values are shared and internalised by all staff and time and energy needs to be invested in this by management. But this is not all that needs to be done. Subscribing to the corporate values helps but is not enough to become effective. To be effective requires being proactive and that is what most people are not, also not in Ethiopia. Most of us are reactive. We react to what is coming our way. We don’t plan-ahead and blame others for things gone wrong. We say: “I don’t have time.” We are busy repairing the damage that has been done and we are constantly in the crisis management mode.

Proactive people on the other hand plan-ahead and take responsibility. They say: “How can I help?” They prevent problems from happening and set the right priorities. Reactive people allow circumstances to dictate their agenda while proactive people set the agenda. And they do that using their personal values as a point of departure. To take it a step further still, for employees to be effective in their work it is important that there is a match between their personal and the corporate values. Where there is no such match, workers will not make significant contributions to corporate effectiveness.

Yes, somebody with an accounting diploma or degree can work in any company or organization. But whether or not (s)he will make significant effective contributions depends on how excited that accountant is about the products that the company makes and in how far (s)he subscribes to the corporate values. If, “high quality” is one of the corporate values then delivering high quality and timely financial reports to management will be expected. If a company claims that it esteems its customers, then the sales-reps are expected to be polite and give competent advice to the clients.

In conclusion I’d like to suggest that next time you need to hire somebody, you take values and potential to be proactive into consideration. And for those who want to become more proactive in their work, complete the following exercise:

  • Define your personal values.
  • Do they match the corporate values?
  • What can you do to increase the match between your personal and the corporate values?
  • In which areas of your work can you become more proactive and thus more effective?
  • Write this down and share with management.
  • Agree on a time frame to evaluate progress.

Ton Haverkort

Financial storm should slide

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Since from the  reform Ethiopian government is  introduced , changes on  all  macro-economic factors i.e  , exchange rate , inflation , repeated devaluation of  money as a measurement , stringent move towards import substitution  , incentive for export market  , providing duty free right to capital goods and investment machineries , access to land to investor  were employed . However none of these assisted the economy internally and uncontrolled external variables like CIVID-19  AND  ITS IMOPACT DUE TO MISSINK LINK IN SUPPLY CHAINE recent war between Ukraine –Russia ,  civil war between and among the same nation , political violence and incidents here- and -there –Now –and –Then ,create a more complex business economy  in the first two years of the transformation.  From the edge of spectrum of the change, change resistance forces hammered the transformation using hierarchical bureaucracy which hinders the transformation or momentum of changes.  In the  local affairs of Ethiopia huge resource were wasted due to war , civil war and ethnic conflicts  unexpectedly  consumed quarter of Ethiopia’s  fiscal year budget constituted out of collected taxes , donations , aids, and through loan.

On aggregate these external and internal factors, aggravates the storm of the economy reach to the level that  the government lift up all form of  subsided and leave shock today beyond the shock absorbing capacity.

IN our economy, where by individual income is not rising as rapidly as the desires of the community that create personal savings to be low, so that only limited resources are released for the expansion of the community’s capital. At the same time, the tax systems provide only enough revenue to meet part of the community’s desires for government services, with very small surpluses available to finance development. Under these circumstances, inflation may appear to be an easy method of providing finance to expand investment and hence to be an easy way of obtaining capital for a more rapid expansion of output. If a government can persuade the central bank to create money to finance a development program, or if the banking system freely makes loans to private investors for the finance of physical investment, the problem of expanding the community’s real assets may appear to be easily solvable. Consequently, it is sometimes argued that “a case could be made for making inflation an instrument of (development) policy, rather than the control of inflation an object of policy. This theoretical frame work creates an endless imbalance and shocks in our traditional banking and resource mobilization.

As a measure the government recently, opt inflation controlling strategy including devaluation. In order to maximizes production control, as a mechanism of controlling the rate of inflation impact, mechanized farm is in place. (Significantly reduce shortage of hard currency through import substitution).

There is no doubt that, on occasion, a monetary expansion somewhat greater than the current increase in real output will introduce an element of flexibility in an economy, and lead to some “forced saving” releasing resources for development. However, there are strict limits to the amount of development which may be fostered in this way. Admittedly, the available simple evidence on the relation between inflation and growth is difficult to interpret. The difficulty is common in analyses of the effects of pervasive influences, like the degree of inflation, on phenomena which are also subject to other, complex, forces..

The moment the government pool out its hand from inflation -aggravated  activities like treasury bill , and borrowing from commercial banks and  created more access to individual investors to invest in strategic developmental economic sectors  , i.e mechanized farm , mining , service  , aggregate production will absolve  the impact of inflation. More production will help the economy to use competitive advantage as Ethiopia has more land and labor than any other country in the region. The government should look for other workable strategy, that will increase production, individual income on the nation. 

in any economy,   The monetary system operates on the assumption that money serves as a satisfactory medium of exchange, numéraire, standard for debt repayment, and store of value. If prices are stable or rising imperceptibly, money will be accepted by the community for all these purposes

If prices rise markedly, individuals and businesses will cease to hold money for the latter two of these four purposes. If prices are not expected to remain stable, the economic adjustments attempted by the community will be different from those which will be attempted when price stability is expected.

 In some respects, the problem facing the analyst is the comparison of these different adjustments.  What if prices increasingly disturb the economy or increased at an increasingly rate? And or the storm of inflation could not be stable?  Analysts need to provide their genuine opinion considering the real economic pressure the country is facing.

Shortage of production, low investment, low saving,  high unemployment ( cost of the government )low export in one hand , budget revision , devaluation , mechanized-farm  mainly by the government ,cost of rehabilitation( due to war)  , dinners and lenders compulsory requirement , tax envision, bureaucratic service delivery and corruption  on the other hand  stretched  spectrum of the change. 

If you’re not careful measure impact sand provide proper intervention, , it could sweep any  wealth away. A long-dormant inflation looks to be catching fire. The price of goods and service   is increased the nation history and reached the high- up. The disposable income of the citizen is very low and it is shrinking day by day and   shocks becoming high.  And subsidies and taxes to fund deficits and social programs look to be rising to punishing levels not seen in a generation. This threat could mean a financial apocalypse from which many active participants in the economy (investors) won’t ever recover. Only few, the corrupters and political- mongers navigate in the economy. Getting straight talk on current economic issues, especially the impact of inflation on the daily earning capacity of the citizen should be government’s priority agenda. it is true that individual units of investment financed by bank credit are likely to be created even in inflationary conditions. It is not the immediate products of monetary expansion which are in question; rather it is the over-all effect on the supply of money in the market where by the real purchasing power of money /the real value is significantly discounted by the marginal rate  of inflation over interest rate. Such trend at some point will create financial crises since the collateral size  or real value of the asset  might be  drop down  as a result of  latent economic growth and subsequent impact  on demand in deposit.

An inflationary economy will create a decrease in domestic deposit. to adjust the drop in deposit bankers will not adjust their interest rate  , they may follow expansion of  monetary system.   An expansion of the monetary system’s assets involves an equal expansion of its liabilities. Unless members of the community are willing to increase the real value of their money balances by an amount equal to the increase in bank credit, and thereby indirectly to provide finance for the new investment, either prices will rise, or imports will be so encouraged and exports discouraged that there will be a fall in the community’s capital held in the form of exchange reserves, i.e., a disinvestment in reserves offsetting the newly financed domestic investment. If prices rise, the real value of any increase in money holdings will be eroded. This fall in the real value of money may be considered as a tax on money holders. Inflationary policies, or policies which lead a government to be weak in resisting inflationary pressures, may be assessed by criteria similar to those used in assessing alternative taxation proposals. We need a wise, compressive and effective price adjustment intervention for our economic advisor before the rate of infixion boil the economy and reach beyond the capacity of absorbing the shock.  The storm of the economy should be slide before it creates financial storm and crises the end of policy stance.

Asseged G/Medhin is C.E.O,  AT(@t) Insurance Brokerage & Consulting Firm  

The History of Social Modernization

When the term “Atlantic civilization” was coined in the 18th century, the underlying idea was meant to combine the values of the French and the American Revolutions. They were seen as the two indispensable pillars of a single, yet divided approach to social modernization. The values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as well as those of liberty, equality and fraternity may sound hollow today, yet they have not lost any of their resounding power when looking at their impact.

The Atlantic civilization remains based on the primacy of individual dignity, property and rule of law, a strict separation between state and society the freedom of religion as well as the freedom to travel. People’s ability to engage in self-criticism remains the essential quality of the Atlantic civilization. While hoping for the universalization of people’s understanding of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness remains an inherent driving force of human culture, it is important to re-evaluate the world as it stands.

It is imperative for the future of the Atlantic civilization to realize the root causes of the conflicts which have taken us like a hurricane. The time has come to count the dead due to a series of acts of political violence committed over the past decade. We must take account of undeclared wars such as in the Ukraine, gruesome and barbarous acts of terrorism as in Iraq and Syria, incapable states which cannot really “fail” because they never worked in the first place such as Somalia, as well as states which can no longer prevent the outbreak of mass epidemics with global consequences such as Liberia or Guinea.

The West may be keen to promote the rule of law and democratic participation, but people are confronted with upheavals in their borderlands that follow a different, if not altogether confrontational logic. Russia is projecting its imperial glory, if only out of weakness. The Arab and Muslim world is undergoing a transformation with cultural, political and economic tensions of the highest order. While often clad in religious language, these tensions reflect age-old geopolitical controversies and rifts.

While Westerners are ambivalent about the use of military power, knowing too well its limits and the curse of Pandora’s Box that comes with the use of military power, they can no longer escape a global tide that changes their way of thinking. Aren’t they very scared of “foreign” fighters returning from Iraq or Syria, whether with a U.S. or EU passport? And what is their answer to self-declared “Sharia police” gangs patrolling the streets of London or Bonn, trying to prevent Muslim youth to enter “sinful” places such as discotheques and casinos?

The Atlantic civilization is united these days, or so it seems. In reality, Western nations are divided in their perception of, and proximity to, current hotspots. Whether they are engaged in sanctions against Russia or in organizing a military coalition against the barbaric terror of the self-declared “Islamic State caliphate,” the truth of the matter is this: Nobody has a good answer, and no strategy seems to work the way we thought these things happen.

What’s happening in Russia is about re-establishing spheres of influence, territorial and ethnic. The shift from Arab spring to a Caliphate winter represents almost the opposite: the individualized, decentralized and excessively violent, cruel and unpredictable use of force.

According to political analysts, understood properly, Eurasian imperialism and Arab radicalism are two sides of the same coin. They both reek of obvious helplessness and long-term self-defeat. They represent deep inferiority complexes to which the West has not developed any serious response beyond the usual policies of carrots and sticks.

The Atlantic civilization has to learn that political ideologies and violent conflicts which are no longer relevant in the West have found willing repetition outside their sphere. The Arab world may well have entered its genuine Thirty-Year War, while nobody knows how long Russian imperialism may last.

But as Russia’s and the Arab world’s inner tribulations have begun to penetrate the cohesion and stability of the West, they pose a threat to the Atlantic civilization that goes beyond the reaction of concerned neighbors. That is why, according to political analysts, it is time to reinforce the foundation of this unique experiment in the history of man’s search for freedom without coercion.

The Atlantic civilization needs to redefine its foundation: the search for truth cannot justify the destruction of freedom, one’s own and that of others; the rule of law and democratic participation include the protection of minorities; the outbreak of violence is the end of politics and not its continuation.

In the end, this is what liberal democracy is all about. It is against this backdrop that the success or failure of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) takes on a new dimension. These negotiations are about far more than a trans-Atlantic trade and investment partnership.

Political analysts noted that it is an investment into a common future of liberal democracy and it is about a partnership that cannot be traded on the altar of petty populism and myopic trends on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Mastercard, Kifiya launch program to expand success to credit for MSMEs

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The Mastercard Foundation, in partnership with Kifiya Financial Technology (Kifiya), announces a scale-up program designed to unlock resources from banks, innovate new financial models and products, and transition the financial sector to enable access to uncollateralized financial credit products for MSMEs.

According to the statement sent to Capital, a budget of USD 100 million is committed to the program.

The Sustainable Access to Finance to Enable Entrepreneurship (SAFEE) program incorporates learnings from Michu, a successful large-scale pilot by the Cooperative Bank of Oromia, Kifiya, and the Mastercard Foundation.

This collaboration enabled more than 148,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to access uncollateralized working capital credit in just 14 months.

SAFEE will unlock USD 300 million from six banks and enable more than 477,800 MSMEs to access relevant and appropriate uncollateralized digital credit products, and it will enable 425,000 young women to access mobile device financing.

The program will serve program participants of current and future Foundation programs by unlocking access to uncollateralized working and productive digital credit.

The credit is in the form of nano, micro, and small working capital, inventory credit, invoice financing, equipment financing, and buy-now-pay-later products for MSMEs in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas of Ethiopia.

Over a period of five years, the program will directly drive the creation of job opportunities for 2.18 million young people (80 percent women) and support other programs to enable 3.65 million young people to access credit.

The program is designed to propel supply-side system-level change while addressing demand-side challenges that have traditionally constrained MSMEs’ access to uncollateralized financial services.

The program unlocks resources from banks, innovates new models/products, and ensures that the financial sector transitions to offer uncollateralized financial credit products to a greater number of MSMEs – even beyond the initial program targets.

SAFEE has initially partnered with the Cooperative Bank of Oromia, Bunna Bank, Enat Bank, Amhara Bank, Wegagen Bank, and ZamZam Bank. The facility will increase the number of bank partnerships based on learnings and needs.