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The 2011 Information Economy Report has disclosed that Ethiopian mobile phone penetration is a little more than 7%. The report was released on October 19th by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in association with the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Expansion of mobile phone services may require an atmosphere of competition between different service providers according to Remi Lang, Economic Affairs officer at UNCTAD. Opening the telecom industry to foreign competitors could result in better performance he suggested.

Nyala Insurance Share Company (NISC) announced its commitment to improve the accessibility of insurance services in rural areas in Ethiopia this week. The Insurance Company is taking various measures to benefit rural communities according to Eyob Meherette, Company Chief Executive Officer.  

A large percent of rural communities have no access to insurance services Eyob explained at a meeting for shareholders held at the Sheraton Addis. The company is resolved to benefit underprivileged communities in rural areas he stated.  

An estimated 40,000 condominium housing will be built in Addis Ababa City during the present fiscal year according to the city administration. It is expected that more than 72,000 people will be employed by the construction project said Kuma Demeksa, Mayor of Addis Ababa.

The construction of the 20,000 condos already underway is expected to be completed over the next two months said Kuma. He also added that the 17,000 condos began this year will be completed by April.

The Ethiopian government has focused on the housing sector and low cost condominiums are being built in the capital and regional cities.


Source: Ethiopian Press Agency

Mobile Phones will be used to help health professionals collect data, have it analyzed and receive feedback in a show case project to be launched next week in Ethiopia. The project is led by Technology for Change International and is expected to cost approximately 370,000 US dollars.

The project will distribute a thousand mobile handsets to health professionals in the Amhara, Oromia Southern and Tigray regional states. The health professionals will use the handsets to gather data on pregnant women and send it on to a central server.