1. TELECOMMUNICATION
Telecommunication is generally expensive in Ethiopia and can be very unreliable at times. Part of the reason is because it is not privatized and there is only one player in the whole country. Coming from a country where telecommunication is privatized and is much cheaper, that stood as a great challenge for me. I mean, we are supposed to be connected around the clock and not only get online when we feel like we are missing out. Anyway, I don’t know about you but when I am back in my country, my mobile data stays on all day, all night. When you are in the land of the Queen of Sheba, forget about streaming your favorite music videos and movies using your mobile data. If you need to use unlimited internet, I would recommend you to visit some of the hotels around Edna Mall in Bole. Most of them have affordable coffee and other drinks which gives you access to unlimited WI-FI. I will be letting you know which hotels I recommend for high speed interrupted internet connectivity.
2. LANGUAGE BARRIER
In my first blog article when I was explaining how I made it from Nairobi to Addis Ababa using a bus, I clearly explained how difficult it was to understand what was written on the bus tickets that we had just purchased at the Moyale bus stop (Ethiopian side) and also how it was difficult for us to communicate to anyone in English. It’s not surprising to find out that communicating in English to most people in Addis Ababa can also be quite challenging and frustrating especially if you have no local showing you around and is fluent in both Amharic and English. This is especially true for Ethiopians working in the informal sector but at least in most professional settings and hotels, this becomes less of a challenge. I will be sharing the basics of Amharic so stay tuned!
3. STRICT BUSINESS LAWS
If you’re a foreigner and have ever tried importing goods into Ethiopia, well you’re not alone. Doing business in this African country can be quite challenging especially if you are not well connected or are doing it for the very first time. I will not get into the details of the challenges that I encountered right now but I will write a full article about why I decided to import goods to Ethiopia business and ended up waiting for them to be cleared for 41 days. I will also let you know how you can avoid the mistakes I made as well as why you should move your manufacturing business to Ethiopia. After all is said and done, Ethiopia is an African country with so many business opportunities that are unexplored and untapped.
4. POVERTY
Being in Ethiopia for 41 days sure did expose me to a lot of things some of which includes the high levels of poverty and homelessness in Addis Ababa. Most of the places you visit, you find beggars and street families even in neighborhoods that are considered rich such as Bole. At least some of them have decided to take matters into their own hands and you find young girls and boys selling chewing gum referred to as Mastika. Buying the chewing gums from them at least makes sure that they are able to get a meal and not sleep hungry. I really applaud them for that and what you realize is that they do have selling skills. Something an unsuccessful salesman can learn from. They do not take no for an answer and can persuade you to buy from them even when you hadn’t planned to. I call it selling salt to a slug. Another negative effect that poverty has is the high level of prostitution on the streets. Go out to one of the clubs on a weekend around Bole and you will understand why Addis Ababa is referred to as the ‘Bangkok of Africa’. The high levels of poverty have forced many young women and girls to go out onto the streets and look for a way to survive. It’s probably not their fault or their choice but with very few job opportunities and low wages, this has turned out to be the only alternative to survive instead of wallowing in poverty and starvation.
These are my top 4 things I do not like about Ethiopia. Have you experienced the same in Ethiopia or Africa? If the answer is yes, please share below.
Zelani Afrika 