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- 🎂🥳 Frank Digest Turns 1!
Welcome to 52nd edition of ፍራንክ Digest!
Fashionably late ✅
Hung over from festivities ✅
A year wiser ✅
As our platform celebrates a major milestone, we would like to take a step back and take a moment to explain how Frank Digest came about, and recap a few of our favorite pieces.
Here’s what’s coming your way:
🍰 A Slice Of The Origin Story
👀 One Year of ፍራንክ Digest: A Look Back at Our Best Takes
Thanks for reading!
That One Time Three Highschool Friends Started a Finance Newsletter
It’s been one year since we hit “send” on the very first issue of Frank Digest.
Back then, the idea was simple: say what matters about Ethiopia’s economy—clearly, concisely, and with a side of wit.
Indeed, we give ourselves a pat on the back when we manage to write about topics like taxes without putting anyone to sleep.
A year later, we’re still at it 💪
And whether you’ve been with us since Day 1 or you joined somewhere along the way, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Every newsletter has an origin story.
Ours started with the advent of the much anticipated stock market, championed by the Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority (ECMA).
Being the curious birds that we were, the three of us started to look for ways to catch the wave, a new era in Ethiopia’s Financial history, where companies would be parading their colors on IPO days, millionaires were being minted every Sabbath and champagne was flooding the streets of Mexico Square.
Then we woke up⏰
It’s easy to get carried away but that was, ironically, the light bulb moment.
Why don’t we build an outlet for the young Ethiopian professional to boost financial literacy?
This subject is so underrated and unappreciated and for many reasons.
Spending 1000 Birr on lunch and spending the same amount on a self help book are two different things. Financial literacy is understanding the value of a financial exchange and the consequences it brings.
We could have stopped there but the financial world is much more than a simple analogy of an expensive meal! Supply and demand, inflation, price of goods etc. are factored in.
Simply put, your money activity is tied to a bigger picture and that is the economy, adding another subject to the mix.
Our weekly discussions created many viewpoints and at that moment, we realized that the best way to reach others was to join a rock band 🎸, find promoters, book venues and sing finance themed songs from our platinum album to a crowd of knowledge hungry professionals.
But who are we kidding, the rock scene is still nascent in Ethiopia…so we did what any sensible group of people would do and chose the alternative: a newsletter
Thus Frank Digest, a play on the word ‘ፍራንክ’, was born.
We expanded our horizon and set out to write about the blurry concepts which may feel too intimidating for non-finance people like bonds, share distribution, asset allocation, relationship between banks and fintech or even the simple idea of credit!
Frank Digest started to take shape with friends and family first being added to our subscriber list followed by a quietly growing number of people who were gravitating towards bite size and fun content.
In a few weeks, we felt that we found our brand voice: a well researched piece, a hint of የአራዳ ቋንቋ here and there and a dash of silliness. Frank Digest started to stand out.
As organic word to mouth marketing lit the fire, we took it a step further by reaching out to online communities, blending everyday themes with money, like that time we used Bukayo Saka’s weekly income to create a subscriber funnel.
Our list grew.
As we barrel down the road, our mission hasn’t changed: break down the knowledge barriers to finance and investing by democratizing information and presenting it in a clear and concise way.
Despite the Ethiopian Stock Market still trying to flirt its way into our lives, it has yet still to become the revolution launcher that everyone within our circle expected it to be.
Be that as it may, it gave birth to our outlet.
ፍራንክ Picks
🗞️ In the news: Former PM Joins Impact Investment Company
Notes From The Editors, One Year In
Finance
Time flies when you're decoding Ethiopia’s business, finance, and economy with less jargon and a little humor—all the while sipping ማክያቶs.
From all of us at Frank Digest, thank you again for reading, sharing, replying and occasionally challenging us. This little platform has grown almost entirely by word of mouth—just like a good rumor, but with better sources.
To mark the moment, here’s a look back at some of our most read, most debated, and most controversial pieces from year one.
“You Had Me At 'ዶሮ'”
It’s only fitting to start with this one. Orthodox Ethiopians just celebrated Fasika, and what better time to revisit our Gena-season crowd favorite. This article dug into the real cost of celebration in an age where one chicken can set you back 2,000 birr and butter is priced like imported perfume.
With home truths and just the right amount of culinary heartbreak, we looked at how inflation is reshaping Ethiopia’s holiday tables—shining a light on everything from 20,000-birr teff to switching from ዶሮ ወጥ to ድንች ወጥ with zero regrets. Readers told us it was equal parts funny and painfully accurate.
Capital Markets: Launches, Delays, and a Lot of Hand-Wringing
Our coverage of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) launch was both hopeful and critical, having followed the ESX from daydream to panel discussions to... well, the ribbon cutting and the limbo that ensued.
We kicked off with “Ding Ding Ding! ESX is Here!”, breaking down the excitement—and the very real risks—behind Ethiopia's first stock exchange. Then we got a bit more sober in “ESX: All Talk, No Tickers”, when it became clear that listing delays and regulatory bottlenecks were stalling momentum.
And let’s not forget “Playing Hard to Get”, where we explored why the private sector isn’t rushing to list, and why the capital markets vision may take a little more coaxing to come to life as key infrastructure isn’t in place.
Telecom: The Giant, the IPO, and the Mobile Money Race
Ethio Telecom dominated headlines with its 10% share sale, marking a significant step in Ethiopia's economic liberalization. We covered the details in "Talk of the Town: Telecom", analyzing the implications of this move, and weighed the risks and rewards of buying its shares in “Word on the Street”.
Meanwhile, Telebirr's rapid expansion to over 51 million subscribers and handling transactions worth 1 trillion birr showcased the growing dominance of mobile money in Ethiopia. Among many articles, we explored this trend in “Digital Payments Are Booming” and highlighted the paradoxes in the financial inclusion narrative in "True Story: An Irony of Financial Inclusion". This one hit a nerve, as it followed a real life story. The mobile money revolution is here—on paper, anyway. But with hesitation at the checkout counter to embrace it, so is the contradiction.
Floating the Birr: Buckle Up
Ethiopia let the birr float—and the birr immediately asked, “How high?”
In "BIRR On The Loose!", we covered the freefall from 57 to over 100 birr per dollar, breaking down what it means for your groceries, your rent, and your mental peace. It has since fallen further and nearing 130 birr per dollar.
Then in "Favors & Futures", we zoomed out to look at the long-term play: a freer market, forex relief, and even a potential move into commodity futures. Ambitious? Yes. But this is Ethiopia—we dream in quintals.
Foreign Banks: Welcome or Warning Sign?
When Ethiopia said it was opening up to foreign banks, we sure leaned in.
In "Love or Red Tape?", we looked at the potential entrance of FirstBank of Nigeria and what it signaled for the sector. Then "Opportunity or Oversight?" asked the real question—can foreign banks expand access without bulldozing local players?
Spoiler: In a related news, FirstBank’s Nigerian rival, Access Bank, just got the green light from regulators in Kenya to acquire 100% of National Bank of Kenya for 100 million US dollars. Good or bad omen for Ethiopia? It’s still early to say, but we’ll be watching.
Everyday Finance, Ethiopian Edition
Our best-read pieces often came down to the basics. Among others:
"Funding Your Dreams: Tips & Trends" explored startup funding strategies, investor trends, and why a pitch deck isn’t a substitute for a plan.
“Love Don’t Cost a Thing... But Weddings Sure Do!” broke down the economy of Ethiopian weddings—where tradition, family pressure, and inflation collide.
“Word on the Street” laid out how (and why) to choose between being a sole proprietor, PLC, or S.C. It’s not sexy, but it’s the kind of clarity that saves you money down the line.
No Donor, No Cry (Sort Of)
The USAID funding cut caught everyone off guard—and hit everything from food aid to government budgeting. In classic FrankDigest style, we stepped back to ask: what happens when the biggest wallet in the room leaves? The short answer: new taxes, tighter belts, and a lot of scrambling.
The long answer is in the article 😏
Looking Ahead, One Year Later
We started with one question: can we talk about business and finance in a way that’s smart and relatable?
Turns out, we can. And with everything coming down the pipeline—AI in finance, investment funds, real estate booms, debt collection drama—you better believe we’ve got more to say.
Expect another year of asking incisive questions, poking holes in press releases, and helping you figure out what’s really going on in Ethiopia’s economy.
We’d also appreciate to hear back from you on your journey with us and if there’s anything you would like to squeeze out from our collective brain. Reach out to us on [email protected] and we promise to get back to you.
Thanks for reading. Here’s to keeping it frank.
Thanks for sticking with us, ፍራንክ family! Keep those wallets smart and your inbox open - we’ll be sliding in next week!
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