4.1 Urban Economy and Role of the Town

The town mainly serves as zone and wereda administration and commercial center. There are 51 manufacturing industries, 46 wholesale trades, 997 retail trades and service trades and 3 fuel stations and 7 garages in the town. There are five banks and two micro finance organizations giving services in the town.

The average annual revenue of the municipality within 2009-2010 was 1,072,794.00 Birr and the major sources of revenues were various taxes, rents and service charges. The major investment /opportunities in the town are: agro industry processing and construction. 

According to CSA 2007, economic activity rate was 47.4 for both sexes, 47.7 and 47.0 for males and females, respectively. The rate of unemployment in the same year was 12.5 for both sexes while the male and female unemployment rates were 11.7 and 13.3 respectively.

Finoteselam town has economic linkages with the surrounding areas and Addis Ababa. The town gets grain products, livestock supply, natural resources (fuel wood and charcoal) and labor from surrounding areas manufacturing and commercial products from Addis Ababa.

4.2 Social and Municipal Services

Social services

Education

There are three privately owned kindergartens; nine government, primary schools; one government senior secondary school (9-10 grades), one government preparatory school; one TVET; one government and one private colleges in the town.  

Health

Regarding health there are one governmental hospital, a health post and health center, four private clinics and four private pharmacies in Finoteselam town. The city administration has one ambulance that gives services for emergency cases.                  

Municipal services

Finoteselam town has one public meeting hall, abattoir giving slaughtering service only for Christians; a general and cattle markets meeting twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and one daily market. Solid waste is collected by four horse drown carts and disposed in two authorized open dump sites. 13 persons are involved in collection and disposal of solid waste. There are seven public toilets in the town, while liquid waste is collected by rented vacuum trucks from other towns.

There is a green area covering 50% of the town, forest area covering 400ha and street trees planted along 6Km of streets. There are parks covering 199ha, one public library and town hall, a stadium, a 2 star hotel (Damot Hotel) and 5 semi standard hotels in the town. There are two rivers called Lah and Arera and one dam in the town. In the town there are nine churches for Orthodox Christians, one church for protestant and one mosque.