By Eyasu Zekarias

EthSwitch, a share company fully owned by financial institutions in Ethiopia inks a memorandum of understanding with the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), to streamline a national payment system, which is backed by domestic transaction systems.

According to the share company’s CEO, Yilebes Addis, the payment gateway is a modern digital payment strategy which aims to encourage digital adoption among merchants and financial institutions.

“EthSwitch is serving as an online interoperable payment system, and will collaborate with financial institutions to establish a digital domestic payment system whilst enhancing transactions and enabling secure online payments,” the CEO pointed out, further explaining that since the two countries do have similar systems they can seamlessly pay through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Instant Payment Platform systems.

Through the card called EthSwitch Ethiopia, transactions can be made from financial institutions in India through an instant payment platform. Similarly, an Indian with a NPCI Rupee card can trade or withdraw money in Ethiopia through the UPI.

As Yilebes indicates, EthSwitch has already launched a national payment gateway and has completed the trial process of the same.

The National Payment Gateway is said to link customers’ bank accounts and enable third-party payments through credit cards, debit cards and mobile money.

EthSwitch, which announced the completion of the trial process, stated that payment gateway financial institutions and digital financial service providers can perform various payment options over the Internet, and that this had been implemented in certain financial institutions in the last three months.

EthSwitch, which is owned by private and public banks and digital financial institutions in Ethiopia, including the National Bank, aims to expand digital payments in Ethiopia and enable businesses and consumers to make e-commerce payments.

According to the company’s statements, the trial process of the National Payment Gateway has been ongoing since July 2023, after receiving approval from the National Bank.

Ethio Telecom in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, the Petroleum and Energy Authority and Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise launches digital solutions to streamline the fuel supply management system by replacing the paper based traditional system of fuel coupon distribution.

According to the telecommunications firm, it has developed and launched the state-of-the-art fuel supply chain management system to empower the operation of fuel supply chain management digitally.

“This digital solution would play a tremendous role in modernizing the traditional and paper-based operational process in the fuel supply chain, to get accurate data, control fuel stock, automate processes, and reduce foreign exchange strain as well as for real-time monitoring and efficient fuel distribution,” revealed Tele in its statement.

The company has also made an agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics and the Road Safety and Insurance to digitalize the third-party insurance services provisioning.

 By Eyasu Zekarias

One of the top tier financial powerhouses, Awash Bank, continues to rally its support for job creation, through its second round of the solution oriented “Tataariwochu / Qaxaleewwan” competition.

Tsehay Shiferaw, CEO of Awash Bank, whilst addressing the aim of the competition signaled that, “This project aims to encourage entrepreneurs who have creative skills but could not otherwise implement them due to lack of finance.”

Those eligible to be drawn in the innovative competition include; young people who have problem-solving business ideas and who are above 18 years of age or above the tenth grade.

According to the recent announcement, the second round of the business creation competition, which was officially launched on October 5, 2023, the winner of the project is set to receive 1 million ETB and a clean loan of up to 5 million ETB to anchor the business. The bank also announced that it has prepared cash prizes for the second to fifth winning positions of the competition.

The bank, which has made an agreement with the consulting company “First Consent” to lead the competition for the next two years, disclosed that, “Beginner entrepreneurs can apply from October 23 to November 23, 2023, online or in person at all branches of the bank.”

By our staff reporter

African countries need to show stronger political will to advance industrialisation, including the adoption of new policies to promote improved productivity and harness the potential of a growing youth population, delegates attending the 2023 African Economic Conference heard.

The three-day conference opened in Addis Ababa under the theme “Imperatives for Sustainable Industrial Development in Africa”.

Organised by the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme, this year’s conference, the 18^th edition, brought together experts, the private sector, researchers, and young people to discuss the challenges and prospects of industrialisation in Africa.

In a welcome address, President Sahle-Work Zewde underscored the importance of industrialisation as an essential driver of inclusive economic growth.

“The need to change the narrative of Africa’s industrialisation for inclusive and sustainable industrial development has become more imperative; African countries need to build a robust industrial sector that can withstand external shocks,” she told participants.

President Sahle-Work stressed that industrial policies should focus on supporting domestic industrial development and promoting improved productivity and competitiveness, underscoring that COVID-19 had taught hard lessons about the vulnerability of global production and value chains to various shocks.

Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies with an attractive human capital base, dominated by a young population base compared to the aging populations of other regions, and is therefore seen as the future frontier labour market. Despite this, the pace of industrialisation and economic transformation in Africa remains slow compared to other regions.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Claver Gatete, called on the conference to explore the policies and institutional capacities needed for sustainable industrialisation, inclusive development, and structural transformation. “This will help us rebuild and emerge stronger from the crises,” he said, adding that implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is also crucial.

Gatete affirmed the ECA’s commitment to supporting countries and regional economic communities to develop national and regional implementation strategies to help them integrate the AfCFTA agreement into their national priorities and identify areas of competitive advantage.

In a presentation, African Development Bank’s Chief Economist and Vice President Kevin Urama urged African countries to think differently and implement transformative policies that accelerate indigenous manufacturing capacity and encourage consumption of locally made products.

“Africans need to think African, produce African, and consume African to encourage indigenous industrial development in Africa,” he said.

Urama proposed several approaches to accelerate industrialisation and structural transformation in Africa. These include implementing a strategic industrial policy that encourages local production and consumption, as well as domestic and regional value chain development.

“Policies such as local content and franchising could deliver low-hanging fruits,” Urama said. He added that Africa also has the natural resources needed to lead the electric vehicle technology revolution.

He highlighted the African Development Bank Group’s role, in collaboration with partners, in supporting Africa’s industrialisation and economic transformation process through its High 5 priority Industrialise Africa.

Director of the Regional Service Centre at the United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Office for Africa, Matthias Naab, urged the promotion of mutually beneficial public-private partnerships committed to manufacturing in Africa.

He also welcomed the growing recognition of youth in development policies. “The inclusion of young African researchers in this conference is a testament to our commitment to harnessing their intellectual power; youth are the industrialists of today and tomorrow, and we want to ensure that they lead in identifying pathways forward,” he said.

In a virtual address, Fatou Haidara, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), cited Africa’s young population, vibrant small and medium enterprises, renewable energy potential and abundant natural resources as the potential for the continent’s success.

“Local manufacturing capacity, inclusive access to global financial markets, sustainable value chains and climate action are necessary prerequisites for a prosperous Africa,” Haidara said, underlining UNIDO’s commitment to support countries to develop capacity, analysis, and evidence-based policy advice.