African Aviation’s two-day MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) conference is being held in Addis Ababa, #Ethiopia , home of Africa’s largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines.

Great turnout including Boeing, GE, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, Rolce Royce & Avdyne Aeroservices.

Summarized below are my key take aways from last week’s IMF and World Bank spring meetings here in Washington and the feedbacks I got from panel discussions and private conversations I had with decision makers and influencers at numerous side events.

The old “Washington…

South African Airways (SAA):

Seeking investors for approximately 30% of the airline’s equity.

Government to retain majority.

Considering listing some of the shares.

Suspended route expansion.

Source: SAA’s chairman Derek Hanekom eNCA

#SouthAfrica #Nigeria #Kenya #Ethiopia

Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) economic outlook for 2024 announced by the IMF here in Washington this week.

Headline: “Tepid & Pricey”. Still, some countries growing strong.

Five fastest growing (%)
#Niger 10.2
#Senegal 8.3
#Rwanda 6.9
#Ethiopia 6.2
#Gambia 6.2

SSA average: 3.8

Yesterday, here in the U.S, I met Ethiopian-Americans who founded two successful companies:

1. A cyber-security firm from Virginia. Works with DHS, etc.

2. An MRO company from Texas. Maintains Boeing aircrafts.

Great examples of immigrants from #Ethiopia making a difference.

Very elegant, fun-filled gala dinner last night in Washington at the beautiful Mellon Auditorium to cap-off the first day of the “World Economy Summit” by Semafor.

Great to see many old friends, colleagues and clients and make new acquaintances.

#WES2024

A busy week here in Washington.

1. The IMF/World Bank spring meeting is underway.

Very convenient to speed-network in one place and share insights about global and local markets with finance ministers & central bank governors and senior economic policy decision makers from…

The National Bank of #Ethiopia (the country’s central bank) has published a very insightful, data rich, well prepared document titled “National Stability Report”, the first one of its kind by NBE.

One of the key highlights in the report is the classification of the country’s 30…

Context for those who asked me:

*Avg. growth of 7%/yr is all it takes for #Ethiopia ’s GDP to reach $6.2 trillion, from $192 billion (IMF) in 2023.

*If it’s 10%/yr it could top $10 trillion in 4 decades.

*Doable assumptions factored-in.

China grew an avg. 10%/yr for 40 years…

European airlines cut back Asia routes as Gulf carriers - Emirates, Qatar, Etihad - offer cheaper flights.

Lufthansa and Air France-KLM say they cannot compete with state-backed Middle East airlines that have lower costs.

Source: Financial Times

MY VIEW: Most European carriers (U.S.…

Shift of the world’s economic power from West to East is underway.

Goldman Sachs’ forecast of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2075 ranks Africa’s two most populous countries - #Nigeria and #Ethiopia - at number 5 & number 17.

Ethiopia in particular is amazing. Just…

#Nigeria ’s banks must meet new capital requirements set by the central bank. It could trigger the biggest M&A in the sector in 20 years. Via: Semafor

The last capital increase requirement was in 2004. It resulted in big consolidation & reduced the number of banks from 89 to 25.

Happy Eid Al-Fitr. May this blessed day be one of peace, love and joy!

#EidAlFitr2024 #EidMubarak

ESX Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) - #Ethiopia ’s first and only organized securities exchange - seeking talented individuals to join its team for the following positions:

1. Strategy and Program Manager
2. Listing and Reporting Senior Analyst
3. Senior Manager-Trading Members Regulation and…

Congratulations to everyone who made Ethiopian Airlines one of the world’s biggest global carriers and Africa’s biggest!

Very proud of you!

#Ethiopia Ethiopian Airlines
#Nigeria #Kenya #SouthAfrica

Immigrants get the job done.

Contrary to misleading claims by some U.S. politicians, immigrants do contribute positively to the U.S. economy.

A Goldman Sachs report confirmed that immigration increased the size of the U.S. labor force & enhanced economic growth.

Source: Financial Times

Positive trend for #Ethiopia ’s Eurobond: It rose for the 12th straight day - a record run since its 2014 debut - as global investors cheered news of a $1.72 billion financing from the World Bank and an extended timeline to agree an IMF financing. The bond last traded on Friday at…

Brief promotional video (below) for an upcoming full-length informative documentary on the development of capital markets in #Ethiopia .

Airing soon on ETV EBC WORLD.

Source: Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority

Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX)