U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of Commerce for Middle East and Africa Global Markets Camille Richardson participated in a Women’s Empowerment Through Trade Initiative Coffee Chat Series (“The Series”) on March 9. The event occurred during Women’s History Month. The virtual meeting featured speakers and panelists from the private sector and government from Ethiopia and the United States.
The panel featured two Ethiopian female entrepreneurs, Felekeche Biratu and Sara Yirga, and Business Development Specialist at the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EX-IM) LaTaunya Darden. Felekeche Biratu is the co-founder of the Yenae Collection and a member of the Association of Women in Boldness/Business. Sara Yirga is the founder of Ya Coffee Roasters and Ethiopian Women in Coffee. Both shared valuable perspectives on opportunities in Ethiopia, female entrepreneurship, and potential for business relations between women-led businesses in the United States and Ethiopia. LaTaunya Darden outlined the important role that EX-IM can play in supporting U.S. exporters.
U.S. Commerce official discusses trade and entrepreneurship
Visa to digitize payments in Ethiopia
Visa has affirmed its commitment to expanding digital payments in Ethiopia by working closely with the financial ecosystem to bring the benefits of digital payments to consumers, merchants, financial institutions and the government.
The company announced a series of partnerships in Ethiopia during an inaugural Visa Payments Forum held on Wednesday March 10, that brought together key stakeholders from the digital payments industry to discuss opportunities that exist to develop the payments ecosystem in the country.
In addition to partnerships, Visa has undertaken two initiatives to drive financial inclusion and job creation within Ethiopia with STEMPower and the Visa Everywhere Initiative in Ethiopia, an initiative aimed at supporting the development of innovative fintechs.
“At Visa, we are extremely pleased to have a local presence in one of the most exciting countries in Africa. I am happy to announce that we have worked with our partners in market towards enabling digital commerce. We’re are excited to support the goals of the Ethiopian economy, where financial inclusion will play an important part in enabling the overall growth journey,” said Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President & Head of Visa in Sub Saharan Africa.
AfDB grants $2.33 mln to support electronic payments infrastructure
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a grant of $2.33 million to EthSwitch Share Company, an initiative led by National Bank of Ethiopia, for the modernization of its payments infrastructure.
The grant is resourced from the special fund of the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI), a pan African initiative that aims to facilitate digital financial inclusion for an estimated 332M unbanked population across the African continent, 60% of whom are women.
The African Development Bank believes that provision of interoperable payment systems that are aligned to Level One Principles of reach, safety and affordability, provide the needed grounding to accelerate financial inclusion on the continent and enable opportunities for people in low-income groups, especially women.
The project that entails procurement and implementation of the required payment system, will facilitate design and use of different digital financial services (DFS) including , digital distribution of payments such as social benefits, pensions and other government payments, e-commerce, transport systems, and utility bills.
President Mahamadou wins 2020 Ibrahim Prize
The 2020 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership has been awarded to Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced following a meeting of its independent Prize Committee. President Mahamadou Issoufou served two five-year terms as President of Niger from 2011 to 2020. He is the sixth recipient of the Ibrahim Prize, which recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership. The Ibrahim Prize aims to distinguish exceptional leaders who, during their time in office, have developed their countries, strengthened democracy and protected rule of law for the shared benefit of their people.
In its citation, the Prize Committee praised President Issoufou’s exceptional leadership after inheriting one of the world’s poorest economies, facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. Throughout his time in office, he has fostered economic growth, shown unwavering commitment to regional stability and to the constitution, and championed African democracy.
