Gizeshwork Tessema

21st-Century Adwa Mia Amor Mottley Prim Minister of Barbados

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ( ) Is the 21st-Century Adwa

Citizens bought bonds.
Citizens made donations.
A nation funded its own future.

Just as at Adwa, Ethiopia stood alone and just as at Adwa, Ethiopia prevailed.

was not built for prestige. It was built out of necessity. Ethiopia has a population of over 130 million people, yet just over half have access to electricity.

When Ethiopia approached international financial institutions for loans, the answer was no. The international community refused to finance the project, for many reasons. So Ethiopians turned inward.

For those who may not know, Adwa was the 1896 battle where Ethiopia defeated Italy, an outcome no one believed possible. Ethiopia united, marched for nearly two years, and rose majestically. Adwa became the spark that ignited the Pan-African movement.

If you visit the Adwa Museum in Addis Ababa, you will see New York Times headlines of the time, astonished that an African nation had defeated a European power.

That victory helped give birth to Pan-Africanism, the great conferences, the 1945 Manchester Congress, and ultimately the independence movements led by figures like Kwame Nkrumah and others. It was the moment the world was forced to acknowledge that Black people could determine their own destiny after centuries of domination.

Today, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ( ) carries that same spirit.

It is the largest dam in Africa, nearly two kilometers wide and over 550 feet high. You have to see it to believe it. I have never seen water move with such speed and force. Even after generating electricity, the overspill roars downward with astonishing power.

And yet, the most extraordinary fact remains this: it was built when the world said no.

The was not built for prestige. It was built out of necessity. Ethiopia has a population of over 130 million people, yet just over half have access to electricity.

And this is not only Ethiopia’s story, it is Africa’s story.

While the world speaks of artificial intelligence and advanced technology, nearly 600 million people out of Africa’s 1.4 billion still live without electricity. What makes this project even more remarkable is that it is powered by renewable energy, clean, sustainable, and not a burden on the planet.

But the most fascinating part of this story is not just the engineering. It is how Ethiopia funded it.

The central bank stepped forward. Domestic banks stepped forward. Ordinary citizens stepped forward.