The Public Procurement and Property Authority (PPPA), through its recently introduced modern public procurement platform, Electronic Government Procurement (eGP), is preparing to knit its system with tele birr for its modern payment system of the public procurement venture. The authority has now called upon all suppliers to register to its eGP platform so as to be part of the public procurement.
PPPA announced that the new system which was introduced about a year ago through a pilot of nine public offices is now facilitating the procurement of 73 central government offices and is now working with Ethio Telecom to integrate telebirr with eGP to provide an alternative payment system for the public procurement proceed.
So far, the eGP system has been integrated with banks for payment.
According to Abebe Alemu, Communication Specialist at eGP Project Office, the integration works are being carried out between the two systems for its clients to use telebirr as an e-payment instrument for public procurements.
According to Abebe, in the near future, a memorandum of understanding between the two parties will be signed to realize the operation.
One of the major goals of emplacing eGP on public procurement is to insure transparency and to uplift the benefit of the public. In this regard, using telebirr would have significant opportunities, as Haji Ibsa, Director General of PPPA explains.
He emphasized that using the telebirr platform would increase credibility in the procurement and transaction of goods, services or works for public purchase.
Telebirr which officially commenced operation in the first half of 2021 as a business arm of the state owned telecom giant for its mobile money service has garnered over 24 million customers with over 65 billion birr in transactions.
The integration with eGP will be a new big lucrative advantage for telebirr business since the major portion of government’s budget is spent on procurement.
So far the procurement platform is handling 73 public offices as of April, 2022 and is expected to jump to 125 by the end of the budget year from the total 169 public offices accountable to the central government.
The others that are mostly higher education institutions will be part of the eGP in the process and the next phase will be setting up offices for regional administration.
So far, for those included on the new platform, carrying out procurements through eGP is believed on average to reduce 50 percent of the procurement transaction costs.
The Authority has also disclosed that suppliers who want to be part of the bidding or procurement scheme with public offices ought to register on the portal online.
Haji said that there are 44,000 local and foreign suppliers that are registered on the PPPA system, while as from December 10, only suppliers registered under the eGP system will be allowed involvement on the procurement system for public offices that are registered on the platform.

He called suppliers to register within the given timeframe so as to be active through the modern procurement mechanism.
As per the information that PPPA disclosed, at the current stage about 3,000 suppliers have registered on the eGP platform.
To expand the number of suppliers who are registered on the system, the authority is undertaking different awareness schemes.
For instance it is facilitating an event that will gather at least 1,000 suppliers to speak about the eGP system so as to attract suppliers to be part of the system.
Abebe said that the event that will gather huge crowds is expected to be held on November 8, “different suppliers will attend the session which will help them to get information about the modern electronic scheme and to be involved in it.”
eGP refers to the use of digital technologies to enable a more efficient and transparent exchange of information, and interactions and transactions between government and the business community in the procurement of goods, services and works. E-GP automates and streamlines the end-to-end public procurement process from the preparation and publication of annual procurement plans, managing the various tendering activities, and administration of contracts.
On the way to modernize the government procurement with eGP lack of willingness to perform procurement operation via the new platform, lack of commitment from the leadership at public offices and low human resource and infrastructure have been a challenge besides limited awareness about the system among the business entities.
In Ethiopia up to 70 percent of government’s annual budget is allocated to public procurement, while public procurement takes up 14 percent of the GDP.

BRUH Finance launches its service to provide; trainings, workshops, and leadership programs with the aim to expand a range of skilled manpower in the financial sector. BRUH in collaboration with the Association of Ethiopian Insurers and the Chartered Insurance Institute also launched a chartered insurance institute and education program in Ethiopia as part of its service.
The launching ceremony which was held on Thursday September 29, 2022 at the Hub hotel was attended by senior management officers of insurance companies.
“There is a big skills gap and shortage of trained human power in the financial sector,” said Getachew Beshahwred, General Manager of BRUH Finance and Managing Director of GB & Co. Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants based in London.
“There are plans for significant changes to the marketplace with the prospect of foreign banks and insurance companies being granted licenses in addition to the establishment of a Stock Exchange. Thus the coming two years would pose a great opportunity and threat to the Ethiopian financial sector, and only those who have done extensive preparations will survive the competition. Of course, human capital is at the heart of staying competitive,” Getachew emphasized.
To improve lack of skills and trained human power problems, BRUH has come up with the idea of launching a chartered insurance institute and an education program in Ethiopia.
“BRUH Finance will ease the skill gap, particularly in a time when we need to hasten the knowledge expansion in a bid to be competitive with international financial institutions, which are going to join the local financial market,” Getachew highlighted whilst pointing out that the new initiative will provide various education and training schemes in certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Chartered programs, to junior, middle and senior levels managers.
“It is widely expected that foreign banks and insurers will be allowed into Ethiopia in the coming few years. There is need for local banks and insurances to improve their capacity to deal with this new competition as they need high investment in human capital,” Getachew underlined.
As Getachew indicates, BRUH Finance has both local and international partners. Its international partners are the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, Chartered Insurance Institute, London Institute of Banking and Finance, and the London International School of Finance. The Association of Ethiopian Insurers and the Ethiopian Bankers Association also form as its local partners.
As Getachew elaborates, the programme combines international best practice with local contextualization to ensure relevance. The faculty includes qualified and experienced insurance and management personnel including former Board members of major international insurance companies. It will also provide a unique opportunity to connect with the London ecosystem through various networking events. Delegates will be provided with a Certificate and a study guide that summarizes key learning points together with recommendations.
As experts stressed, the global insurance sector is going through a period of rapid transformation driven by mega trends of digitalization and sustainability. It has also been significantly impacted by major events such as the pandemic and geopolitical events. In this environment for insurers to prosper, good governance and sound risk management to ensure resilience is noted as a base requirement. This also needs to be allied with strategic foresight to be responsive to new market opportunities.
Beside the insurance sector, BRUH is working to come up with two more programs for international trade and finance and banking qualification programs as well as capital market qualification programs in partnership with the London Institute of Banking and Finance and the Chartered Institute for Security and Investment in London.

The sweet benefits of working as a single body proves integral in the acceleration of logistics activities between the Ethiopian and Djibouti customs as the duo now tailor plans to bolster their operations by use of a single document management.
In light of the occasion of recognizing the successful shipment and transportation of 1.3 million metric tons of fertilizer for this agricultural season, the role of the two customs have been stated as one of the reasons for the achievement attained in the operation.
According to leaders from Djibouti and Ethiopia customs, the operation of fertilizer was seamless due to the one accord inner workings of the two controlling entities.

According to Roba Megersa, CEO of the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE), the operation was a result of holistic cooperation between the two countries’ logistics entities and other offices like Customs of Djibouti and Ethiopia.
“The working in tandem of the customs’ operation, which on this occasion was 24 hours of the day has led to swift movement of cargo without further stay or delay,” the ESLSE’s CEO said while crediting the cooperation of the two countries’ customs offices.
Similarly, Debele Kabeta, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Customs Commission, and Rahma Omar Bogoreh, Director of Transit Department of Djibouti, stated that the strong relationship and cooperation between the two countries’ customs offices was one of the exemplary achievements registered on the logistics sector in addition to that of the fertilizer consignment.
They emphasized that the joint operation applies for all consignment and not only for some strategic cargos.
“We have established a one point between the two customs,” Omar Bogoreh told Capital as she elaborated that all stakeholders like freight forwarders are working in a single online system that helps to accelerate the logistics activity.
The two sides have also engaged to introduce more strong cooperation regarding declaration and other document based works.
She explained that on the new scheme a declaration given by Ethiopia or vice versa will be used by both countries without further issuance of documents.
“We need to have similar customs procedure based on a single customs administration document,” Debele told Capital.
“We are planning to do that and we will have a trip to Djibouti in the coming few weeks. We have had extensive discussion on the matter with our Djibouti counterparts and the upcoming Ethiopian Customs Commission’s team visit would be a procedure to finalize the process,” he said, adding, “The two customs are working together to facilitate the transportation and customs passenger of cargos for swift customs clearance and customs transit.
Djibouti is the major sea outlet for Ethiopian cargos. For the current agricultural season, Ethiopia has imported 1.3 million metric tons of fertilizer within only 203 days, which is now the shortest period when compared to past experiences.
Besides the electrified railway system, Ethiopia and Djibouti are connected with three highway facilities; Balho, Galafi and Dewalle roads. The two countries are also working to realize One Stop Border Post.

Axon Stroke and Spine Center on Saturday, October 1 2022 was inaugurated becoming the first comprehensive stroke center that incorporates state-of-the-art and most advanced artificial intelligence which enables biplane Cath lab suite which is the first in sub-Saharan Africa.
The center also offers the best services through its neurosurgical theatres, neurologic intensive care unit, new rehabilitation center, new stroke/neuro/trauma emergency department, CT scanner, and much more.
The stroke center is run by Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel Tekle, who is an internationally renowned neurologist and neurointerventional surgeon with extensive subspeciality training in the United States and more than two decades of clinical experience in neuroscience. The center will focus on providing sustainable, high-quality care to patients with stroke and other complex neurological conditions.
Axon Stroke and Spine Center is created in partnership between an American based medical investment company founded by Dr. Wondwossen to support stroke care in Ethiopia, and Samaritan Surgical Center (a state-of-the-art and experienced surgical center) with an investment capital of 132 million Ethiopian birr. Axon Stroke and Spine Center is located at Samaritan surgical center which is connected to the American Medical Center. The opening of the stroke center is expected to create more convenience and exceptionally seamless flow of services for patients at the three institutions.
Whilst explaining their commitment to move from the United Stated to Ethiopia to open up the Center, co-founder and general manager Dr. Wondwossen Gebreamanuel expressed, “Stroke is almost becoming the new epidemic in our country as is the trend in most third world countries which now collectively carry two thirds of the global stroke burden. This is mainly due to the absence of effective preventive services, and total absence of acute treatment to reverse the initial damage from strokes and post-acute neuro-rehabilitation to decrease long-term disability.”
Comprehensive stroke services which Axon Stroke and Spine Center is currently providing include acute medical treatment with intravenous thrombolysis as well as neurointerventional mechanical thrombectomy in the biplane Cath lab suite. Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally invasive brain surgery performed by accessing and opening clogged brain arteries with catheters and other devices which are first advanced through the arm or leg and then navigated inside to the brain without having to open the skull. The center also boasts neurological ICU which is equipped with advanced cerebral and hemodynamic monitors, latest diagnostic software and CT scanner, portable wireless ultrasound, X-ray, a centralized oxygen supply system, etc, which are well suited for acutely ill neurologic patients.
Besides strokes the center will have numerous neurological procedures including radiofrequency ablation for spinal pain and other pain disorders, using one of the most advanced radiofrequency generator machines as the first machine in Ethiopia.
As a teaching facility, Axon Stroke and Spine Center is collaborating with Addis Ababa University College of health sciences in training neurosurgeons and neurologists to become sub-specialists in stroke and neurointerventional surgery. The center will also provide telemedicine-based services where physicians will see patients without physically being present at the center.