Ethiopia, unfortunately, has not reaped the full benefits of the digital economy due to its delayed adoption of a comprehensive digital address system. The absence of a reliable location-based service provider in the country has posed challenges and hindered economic activity.

To address this issue, the Ethiopian Space Science and Geospatial Institute (SSGI) has introduced the Ethiopian Digital Addressing System (EDAS). This system aims to provide a solution by assigning unique digital addresses to buildings, streets, and neighborhoods (blocks) while offering navigation services.

Agmasie Gebeyehu, the project manager of Digital Address, shed light on the significance, implementation, and challenges of the system in an interview with Capital. The implementation of the Digital Addressing System (DAS) holds great importance as it promises to unlock new opportunities and streamline various sectors of the economy.

By embracing a comprehensive digital addressing system, Ethiopia aims to overcome the obstacles it has faced in leveraging the digital economy fully. The EDAS has the potential to enhance economic activity by enabling accurate location-based services, facilitating efficient logistics, improving emergency response systems, and promoting digital commerce.

However, the implementation of such a system is not without its challenges. Agmasie Gebeyehu discussed the hurdles that need to be overcome, including infrastructure development, data collection, awareness campaigns, and stakeholder engagement. Addressing these challenges will be crucial to realizing the full potential of the Ethiopian Digital Addressing System.

Overall, the introduction of the Ethiopian Digital Addressing System marks a significant step towards harnessing the power of the digital economy in Ethiopia. By embracing this system, the country can unlock new avenues for economic growth, improve services, and create a more connected and efficient digital ecosystem.

Capital: Could you please explain what a digital address system entails?

Agmasie Gebeyehu: A digital address system is a method of assigning unique digital addresses to physical structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructures. These addresses are closely linked to digital maps and GPS data, ensuring convenient usability for users.

The primary purpose of the system is to enable efficient location identification, direction finding, and distance calculations from a specific reference point. It empowers users to access maps, search for specific locations, discover nearby services, receive route suggestions, and utilize navigation services.

Capital: What was the driving force behind the development of a digital address system? Can you share insights from other countries’ experiences?

Agmasie: The motivation to establish a digital address system stems from several factors. Firstly, the rapid urbanization and concentrated population in certain areas of the city necessitate an efficient system to manage addresses. Additionally, as the digital economy continues to thrive, online platforms have become the primary means of conducting business transactions globally. Such platforms heavily rely on a robust address system. Hence, the implementation of a digital address system becomes crucial to attract foreign investments into the country.

In the process of building this system, we initially assessed the country’s population distribution and the existing urbanization scenario. This helped us understand the specific requirements and challenges we needed to address. Secondly, we closely observed the emerging trends in technology that would shape the next generation. Lastly, we studied the experiences of other countries that have successfully implemented similar systems. By considering these three aspects, we developed a standardized approach for the digital address system and launched it.

By leveraging insights from other countries and tailoring the system to Ethiopia’s unique context, we aim to ensure its effectiveness and maximize its benefits for our country. The experiences of other nations have provided valuable lessons and best practices that we have incorporated into our own strategy.

Capital: How has Ethiopia’s delay in implementing a digital address system affected the digital economy?

Agmasie: The absence of a digital address system in Ethiopia has had significant economic repercussions. Firstly, the country has incurred substantial revenue losses by not embracing this system in a timely manner. Without a comprehensive geospatial information system (GIS), institutions that rely on location-based services have been compelled to purchase them from external sources using foreign currency. This has resulted in a drain of valuable foreign exchange.

Secondly, the absence of a reliable address system has deterred potential investments in the country. Investors in various sectors, particularly those dependent on accurate location data, have faced obstacles and uncertainties due to the lack of an established address system. Consequently, Ethiopia has missed out on potential investments and the economic benefits they bring.

In summary, the delay in implementing a digital address system has not only resulted in revenue losses and foreign currency outflows but has also hindered investment opportunities in crucial sectors. Establishing a reliable address system would not only mitigate these challenges but also stimulate economic growth and attract both domestic and foreign investments.

Capital: What are the available options for utilizing the digital address system?

Agmasie: The implementation of the digital address system takes into account the diverse communities living in the country. It offers both digital and physical addressing solutions.

In the digital addressing aspect, every house, road, and infrastructure will be accurately positioned on a digital map. Each location will be assigned a unique digital number, providing a specific address for every house. With this 10-digit number, individuals can easily navigate to any destination by entering it into a mobile app or website.

Regarding physical addressing, the system will extend its reach to land-based locations as well. Each house will have a prominently displayed house number on its door, allowing for easy identification. Similarly, streets will be labeled with consistent names and codes, ensuring clarity and simplicity in physical addressing.

By offering both digital and physical addressing options, the system provides flexibility and convenience for users, enabling them to seamlessly navigate both the digital and physical realms with accurate and standardized addresses.

Capital: When was the GIS project initiated and what was the cost involved?

Agmasie: The GIS project was launched in Ethiopia approximately three years ago. During the initial two years, extensive efforts were dedicated to conducting feasibility studies, research surveys, and engaging numerous stakeholders to develop the required standards. The Bishoftu project, specifically, commenced in late 2022.

Originally, there was a plan to complete the project within a timeframe of five months. However, due to the novelty of the initiative in the country and the challenges encountered along the way, the timeline extended to approximately one year.

In terms of funding, the project was a collaborative effort involving various entities. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Urban and Infrastructure Development, Ethio Telecom, and Ethio Post played significant roles and contributed in different capacities. The digital development and addressing aspects were managed by the Institute, while the financial support for the physical addressing component came from the city administration. The exact expenditure details will be disclosed during the project’s inauguration next month.

Capital: In which cities has the digital address system been implemented? What are the plans for making it accessible in other regional cities of the country?

Agmasie: The digital address system has been successfully implemented in its entirety in Bishoftu. Every house, infrastructure, and natural resource within the city now has its own unique digital address. In Adama, the process of assigning addresses to locations has been completed, and the remaining task of entering them into the system is underway, with completion expected in the coming days.

Furthermore, an agreement has been reached to implement the project in Addis Ababa, the capital city. Efforts are currently underway to make the digital address system accessible in other cities across the country. The aim is to expand the system’s coverage to regional cities, ensuring a comprehensive and standardized addressing system throughout Ethiopia.

Capital: How does this project differ from platforms like Google Maps and other address-pointing systems?

Agmasie: This project stands out as it has been entirely developed within the country, including the data preparation, which sets it apart from other systems. Unlike platforms such as Google Maps, this system provides a fixed address for each individual house. Users can easily access the system by entering their unique ID, which is assigned to distinguish one location from another.

Furthermore, the project addresses a specific need within our community, as there was previously a lack of a dedicated digital address system tailored to our context. This uniqueness and relevance make it a desirable solution, differentiating it from existing platforms like Google Maps that may not have a specifically prepared digital address system for our community.

Capital: What were the major challenges encountered during the implementation of this project? How were these challenges addressed?

Agmasie: The implementation of this project faced several significant challenges. Firstly, obtaining approval from city administrations proved to be a difficult task. However, through persistent efforts by the ministry and the institute, approval was eventually secured from the city of Bischoftu, allowing the initial groundwork to commence.

Secondly, the low level of urbanization in our country posed challenges. Many cities lacked proper planning, resulting in unnamed roads and streets. Additionally, the diverse cultural and linguistic landscape of our society presented a considerable obstacle in developing a standardized system that accommodated these variations. Overcoming this challenge required extensive research and consultation to establish a comprehensive standard that considered the cultural and linguistic diversity.

Technical, financial, and implementation capacity were also notable challenges. The lack of prior experience in developing such a system posed difficulties in terms of technical expertise. Additionally, the financial resources required for the project were substantial. To address these challenges, the team invested in capacity building, leveraging external expertise and collaborating with various stakeholders to ensure the successful development and implementation of the system.

Despite the challenges encountered, the project persevered through strategic planning, collaborative efforts, and a dedicated approach to overcome each obstacle. The lessons learned from these challenges have contributed to the ongoing improvement and refinement of the digital address system.

Capital: What are the future plans for the Digital Address System project?

Agmasie: The Digital Address System project serves as a fundamental infrastructure for various institutions and national systems. Moving forward, our focus is on leveraging this system as a valuable resource for future endeavors. We envision other institutions utilizing and integrating this system into their own services, further enhancing its functionality and implementation.

The goal is to establish a robust ecosystem where the Digital Address System becomes an integral part of various platforms, empowering users with accurate and standardized addressing capabilities. By expanding its reach and encouraging collaboration with other institutions, we aim to maximize the system’s potential and ensure its long-term sustainability.

Furthermore, continuous development and improvements will be pursued to enhance the system’s features, address emerging needs, and align with technological advancements. The project is committed to adapting and evolving to meet the evolving requirements of the digital landscape, ensuring its ongoing relevance and usefulness for the future.

Celebrating Creativity: Heineken signs major sponsorship deal with Rophnan for ‘IX’ Album

Arts and Culture

admin

February 13, 2024

Celebrating Creativity: Heineken signs major sponsorship deal with Rophnan for ‘IX’ Album

Heineken Ethiopia, operating under the brand Walia, has recently entered into a significant sponsorship agreement with Rophnan Nuri, an accomplished author, singer, and composer. The collaboration revolves around Rophnan’s latest album titled ‘IX,’ which comprises two distinct albums named ‘Harambe’ and ‘Nor.’

The signing ceremony emphasized that the sponsorship agreement will be exceptional, promising a series of thrilling events scheduled throughout the 18-month contract period. These events aim to captivate audiences and create unique experiences.

In addition to the musical collaboration, Rophnan and Walia intend to join forces on a youth program that focuses on the music industry. This program seeks to engage and empower young individuals who are passionate about music, providing them with valuable opportunities and support.

The partnership between Rophnan and Walia signifies an exciting venture that combines the worlds of music and sponsorship, with a shared vision of promoting talent and fostering growth within the music industry.

At what cost?

Doing Business

admin

February 13, 2024

When I first came to this country, the variety of fruits and vegetables available in the shops in Addis Abeba was not as rich as today. Now our choice is much bigger and includes different lettuces, broccoli and cauliflower for example, while the supply of fruits has also increased over the years. One may expect that with an increase in supply, prices will go down, but this has not been so the case for fruits and vegetables. To the contrary, the real price of fresh fruits and vegetables and other nutritious foods keeps going up. In other words, while the availability of nutritious foods like fresh fruits and vegetable has improved, the affordability has gone down. It is therefore no wonder that households that can afford less, will end up buying and eating cheaper and often less nutritious foods. The availability of nutritious foods also differs per location in the country and we may assume that the family’s diet in more remote areas is much less varied, especially again when the family does not have a lot of money to spend.

This has important consequences, as the development of children who are given less nutritious foods during their first years of life, remains behind (stunting) and therefor has personal but also national consequences. Improving nutrition is high on the policy agenda of the government of Ethiopia but child stunting in Ethiopia remains widespread and Ethiopian children consume one of the least diverse diets in sub-Saharan Africa (Hirvonen 2016). At the household level, food consumption baskets are dominated by cereals and pulses, while the consumption of animal-source foods and fruits and Vitamin A-rich vegetables is rare, especially in rural areas. Such monotonous diets are regarded as a major contributor to non-communicable diseases in Ethiopia (Melaku et al. 2016). More recent research suggests that the poor dietary diversity in rural areas can be explained, at least partly, both by limited knowledge about the health benefits of diverse diets and by poor access to food markets. Households in areas in which food crop production is not very diverse but which have good access to markets are found to have more diverse diets than do households in such areas but which have poor access to markets and, so, de-pend primarily on own-production for the food they consume. Yet, even with sufficient access to markets and knowledge on the benefits of diverse diets, poor households may simply be un-able to afford nutritionally rich foods.

So, is there anything that can be done to bring the prices of nutritious foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, down or at least stabilize them? Going back to the beginning of the column, these days I often pass some of the fruit & vegetables shops on my way home, to buy some fruits for the next day’s breakfast. Papaya, orange, mango and banana are some of my favorites, that make a nice fruit salad or juice. It is not easy to select the right fruits though. Which papaya is ripe? Which orange will be juicy enough? Which mango will be sweet enough? Trying to impress the shop attendant with my apparent insight in the quality of the fruits I intend to buy, I look at them, smell them, shake them and indeed, I squeeze them. How many customers before me in addition to the seller, will have already squeezed the papaya before deciding to take it or leave it? Many fruits end up bruised before they make it to the dining table. But this is only the last bruising they endure during their journey from the tree to the kitchen. Many don’t even make the last leg and end up in the juice blender of the same shop and quite a few don’t seem to make it at all. Post-harvest loss is the terminology used for all produce that get damaged and unfit for consumption during their journey from the moment of harvest to the end consumer. Studies suggest that 40% or more of tomatoes, papayas and mangos for example, don’t make it to the consumer. For bananas this is about 20%. With such losses, it seems no wonder to me, that prices are high and are likely to remain high. Much can be done to reduce food loss, as Post Harvest Loss studies of many items, suggest a wide range of measures that can be taken. Improvements can be made in production, harvesting techniques, infrastructure, packaging, processing and marketing. A cross sectoral and coordinated approach is required though if we want to see real results here. Done well, all stakeholders along the value chain will benefit: the producer, the transporter, the wholesaler, the retailer and finally the consumer. The aim in the end is to make nutritious food items more available and affordable. However, without education and creating awareness of the general public about nutritious and less nutritious food, consumers may still end up making wrong decisions, more especially in the towns and cities, where unhealthy food and drinks are becoming more available. Too much sugar and salt in processed foods and drinks have become a real problem in many countries and are becoming a problem in Ethiopia too, resulting in so called non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.

In conclusion, if the prices of nutritious food items keep going up, we will continue to see under-development of children and adults becoming ill. At what cost?

Ton Haverkort

Why the world loves and hates black Americans

Society

admin

February 13, 2024

Why the world loves and hates black Americans

By Lenrod Nzulu Baraka

Increasingly, Black American YouTubers are uploading videos exploring the strained relationship between Black Americans and other national and ethnic groups both inside and outside of America. While it is true that Black Americans are some of the most popular global trend setters, it is also equally true that Black Americans seem to get under the skin of people all over the globe.

As the global community continues to be outraged by the atrocities being committed by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people and equally scandalized by the unrepentant, unqualified support extended by President Joe Biden to the Israelis, Black congregants of the Mother Emanuel Methodist church can still be heard shouting, “Four more years,” in support of the Joe Biden administration.

It cannot be argued that there isn’t much African American dissent from the politics of the Joe Biden administration vis-à-vis the support of the Israeli atrocities being perpetrated in Gaza. What is somewhat inexplicable are some of the statements of Black faces in high places in the Joe Biden administration which suggest that these Black faces in high places are totally supportive of the aims and objectives of Caucasian supremacy and Caucasian settler colony philosophy.

At least one very prominent African American activist in the person of Dr Omar Ifatunde has made it clear that his mission is to fight for Black rather than Arab liberation. Those of this school of thought are using the plight of the Palestinians as a teaching moment to remind people of African ancestry that Arabs have historically been anti-Black and preceded the European in the enslavement of Africans. Anti-Blackness among Arabs is a conversation that must take place between Arabs and people of African ancestry, but this moment may not be the best time for such a conversation.

The image of Black Americans has been severely tainted by their conspicuous presence in the American military and in recent times at its highest levels. Colon Powell’s lending of his credibility to promote a false claim about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq certainly was not his finest hour. The involvement of Black American troops in the killing spree that left close to half million Iraqis dead did little to enhance the international image of Black Americans.

Wherever the American empire unleashes its imperial forces on nations, Black American faces are seen among the military enforcers of America’s imperial will. Black American troops were deployed to Europe to fight in a war that was falsely marketed as a war to make the world safe for democracy. African American troops on returning to the US quickly comprehended that they had been duped into fighting a war to make the world safe for hypocrisy. Hardline racists in Europe and America must have laugh themselves to sleep at night thinking about the lunacy of Black Americans fighting in a war between nations that were prepared to treat each other’s prisoners of war better than they were prepared to treat Black American soldiers.

Black American soldiers have been complicit in the killing of Europeans, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Iraqis, Afghans, Somalians, Libyans, and should American troops get drawn into a wider Middle Eastern war presently, it is quite likely that Black Americans will join the Israeli Defense force in raining down fire and fury on Lebanese, Jordanians, Yemenis, Palestinians and whoever else decides to join the fight on the side of the Palestinians.

Blacks in the military and Blacks in high places who enforce the imperial will of the American Empire are not the only sources of antagonism between Black Americans and the rest of the world. In recent times, as the issue of reparations looms larger on the political radar, a school of thought is emerging among Black Americans that propounds the view that Black people who are descendants of slavery in the US should be treated differently to immigrant Blacks living in the US.

American descendants of Slavery or ADOS as the movement is called is seeking to gain special recognition for Foundational Blacks or Black Americans who are descendants of those enslaved within the United States. Promoters of ADOS argue that immigrant Blacks and others have been benefiting from policies that were designed explicitly to help Black Americans who are descendants of American slavery.

The goals of ADOS are quite understandable but the rhetoric of the movement is already creating some waves among the immigrant Black community in America. ADOS has the potential to further factionalize the Black community in America. This could potentially be politically disastrous for the Black community in the US which has already lost its major minority status to Hispanics. Any movement that further divides Black people in the US will only serve as a set-back to the Black agenda in the US.

Black Americans or Foundational Blacks as some prefer to be called these days have a lot to offer the world. They are the richest and perhaps the most privileged group of Black people globally. As such therefore, the global Black collective expects Black Americans to be the shakers and movers in the revolution to resurrect Black civilization. Foundational Blacks in America should therefore become settled in their minds about whether they are, first and foremost, Americans and all that this implies, or whether they constitute an integral part of the global Black collective and its struggle against Caucasian supremacy. Finding the sweet spot between these two identities will perhaps be the greatest challenge for Black Americans in the coming years.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center and the author of The Rebirth of Black Civilization: Making Africa and the Caribbean Great Again.

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