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Spotlight | Ethiopia
ZayRide co-founders' unsettling ties to army generals

By Getaneh Wudeneh Chemeda and Constance Daire
Reading time 4 min
Birhanu Jula (speaking into the microphone), Marshal of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and Chief of Staff, in Addis Ababa on October 26, 2023.
Birhanu Jula (speaking into the microphone), Marshal of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and Chief of Staff, in Addis Ababa on October 26, 2023. © Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
Birhanu Jula (speaking into the microphone), marshal of the Ethiopian National Defense Force and chief of staff, in Addis Ababa on 26 October 2023.
Birhanu Jula (speaking into the microphone), marshal of the Ethiopian National Defense Force and chief of staff, in Addis Ababa on 26 October 2023. © Amanuel Sileshi/AFP

Linked to the launch of the on-demand taxi app, Bereket Bayissa has taken the helm of a conglomerate, the Shirshir Business Group, a key partner of the Ethiopian army. The development comes amid the takeover of METEC, the Tigrayan military-industrial empire dismantled by Abiy Ahmed.

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