Ethiopia Hears the C2C Vision at the 2025 Africa Business Forum
Published May 2025 — United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa & Reynoldsburg (Globalgood HQ)
Addis Ababa — Capital of Pan-African Ideas
From hosting the 1963 birth of the Organization of African Unity to housing today’s African Union headquarters, Addis Ababa has long been the continent’s political conscience. On 17 February 2025 its halls echoed with a new proposal: monetary emancipation.
The Africa Business Forum 2025—themed “From Potential to Prosperity: Activating Africa’s Regional Value Chains”—gathered heads of state, ministers, investors and development partners inside the UN compound. Ethiopia’s own leadership, flanked by regional dignitaries, sought answers to a familiar question: how do we fund prosperity without sinking deeper into debt?
Ethiopia’s Economic Crossroads
- A decade of double-digit growth-built railways, dams and industrial parks—but on the back of concessional loans and diaspora bonds.
- Birr depreciation and hard-currency shortages now pressure importers and households alike; inflation clipped 30 percent in some quarters.
- Debt-service obligations increasingly rival federal health and education outlays.
The cycle is clear: to create money, Ethiopia must first create debt. The Africa Business Forum offered a chance to hear a different path.
The C2C Moment— “Beyond Debt” Circulates in the Corridors
Although the formal dais featured ministers and corporate chiefs, much of the real excitement unfolded in side-rooms and coffee lines. H.E. Rev. Franck Robert Boh, Chief of the Office of International Mission at Globalgood Corporation, moved from table to table—meeting AU staff, Ethiopian officials, and private-sector delegates, pausing often for impromptu photos.
In those informal huddles he shared the Beyond Debt brief, a streamlined primer on the Credit-to-Credit (C2C) Monetary System. Three take-aways dominated the conversations:
- Asset-issued money — Currency should come into existence only when it is matched by audited, present-day assets, not by IOUs payable in some other shrinking currency.
- Central Ura (URU) back-stop — Because substantial URU reserves already sit in classified custody, every legitimate fiat-era creditor can be honored in full; no haircut is necessary.
- Local brands, honest value — Countries keep their own currency names; Ethiopia’s birr, for example, would simply convert from debt-born notes to asset-born money secured by the nation’s gold, coffee receivables, carbon credits, and verified infrastructure revenues.
Conversations in the Corridors
- President Sahle-Work Zewde and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s advisers queried reserve-audit methodology and sovereign-wealth options.
- Amb. Leo Vinovezky (Israel MFA, Economic Affairs for Africa & Latin America) explored agri-tech investment possibilities under an asset-backed birr.
- Continental delegates from Kenya, Ghana and South Sudan compared notes on how Addis could shape the forthcoming Bretton Woods 2.0 talks.
Why C2C Resonates in Ethiopia
- Commodity Leverage – Coffee futures, gold, and emerging carbon-credit markets can become the very reserves that anchor a value-stable birr.
- Forex Relief – Importers pay for machinery without watching the birr slide between order and delivery.
- Debt Neutrality – Existing bondholders convert to asset-backed notes at face value; development continues without austerity.
- Regional Influence – As AU host, Ethiopia can champion a monetary reform born on African soil and scaled worldwide.
Next Steps on the Ethiopian Horizon
- Exploratory Task Force – Ministry of Finance, National Bank, diaspora economists and cooperative unions to study C2C reserve options.
- Stakeholder Dialogues – Coffee unions in Sidama, pastoralists in Afar, exporters in Modjo dry port—collecting views on asset-backed money.
- AU Briefing – Share findings with the AU Economic Affairs Commission ahead of the proposed Bretton Woods 2.0 summit in Nairobi.
No timetable is imposed; Globalgood stands ready to provide technical papers, legal templates and public-education media whenever Addis is ready.
A Gentle Invitation to Ethiopia’s Leaders
Dear Ministers and Parliamentarians,
Addis Ababa gave Africa its first continental institution. Hosting the first in-depth African debate on C2C would extend that legacy—swapping the chains of fiat dependence for a monetary system that measures real value and serves real people.
Voices from the Forum
“If coffee receipts can steady the birr, that stabilizes every farmer’s future.”
— Aster T., exporter, Sidama
“We need growth without the interest bill that devours it. C2C feels like an answer.”
— Dr. Mekonnen G., economist, Addis Ababa University
“Investors crave predictability. An asset-anchored currency is exactly that.”
— Amb. Leo Vinovezky, Israel MFA
Join the Conversation
Add your comment below:
- Which Ethiopian asset—coffee, gold, carbon credits—should headline the reserve basket?
- What safeguards would earn your trust in an asset-backed birr?
Comments are moderated for civility and relevance.
Beyond Addis—A Signal to the Continent
Ethiopia’s curiosity mirrors a continental awakening: from Accra’s debt-reset dialogue to Nairobi’s invitation to host Bretton Woods 2.0, Africa is preparing to write monetary rules that reflect its own realities.
The reserves exist. The framework is drafted. The choice—whether to remain in a debt loop or step into credit-anchored sovereignty—rests with courageous governments and informed citizens.
Addis Ababa has heard the vision. The next move is Ethiopia’s.