AMN PLUS-January 22/2026
Addis Ababa has once again reaffirmed its continental leadership by serving as a vital platform for mutual learning and cooperation among African cities.
The Mayor announced that the city hosted a productive peer-to-peer learning forum, bringing together mayors and regional administrators from across the continent.
According to an in-depth survey conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on the financial management performance of African cities, Addis Ababa was selected to share its experience after posting outstanding results in five of the six key performance indicators assessed. Among the six cities surveyed, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Lusaka, Kigali, Yaoundé, and Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital emerged as the top performer.
The UNECA findings highlighted that the reforms initiated by the Addis Ababa City Administration, particularly in modernizing revenue generation and financial resource management, have proven highly effective and now serve as a model for other African cities. This achievement reflects the success of the city’s ongoing reform journey, through which 70 percent of total municipal revenue has been allocated to development projects, ensuring sustainable and inclusive benefits for residents.
As part of the forum, visiting mayors and participants are scheduled to tour key reform-driven development projects, allowing them to witness firsthand how strengthened financial and revenue capacity has been translated into tangible, transformative change.
The Mayor underscored that Addis Ababa stands ready to share its extensive experience in building robust financial systems and leveraging them to drive urban development.
She described the forum as a historic opportunity for African cities to collectively shape a more prosperous and resilient urban future.
In closing, the Mayor extended her deep appreciation to UNECA for conducting the study and recognizing Addis Ababa’s achievements, and expressed heartfelt gratitude to the residents of the city and her colleagues, whom she described as the true owners of this success.
