His book – ISLAMIC INSURANCE (TAKAFUL) IN ETHIOPIA, was declared best amongst five entries by the panel of seasoned judges during the 49th Conference of the AIO in Algiers, Algeria.
Fikru is a Certified Insurance and reinsurance professional and a CTP (Certified Takaful Practitioner), ARA (Associate Reinsurance Administrator), ACS (Associate Customer Service), and FLMI, Fellow, Life Office Management (FLMI). He also has an Executive Diploma in Islamic Banking & Finance. He is holder of a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Masters of Arts (MA) in Human Resources and Organizational Development (HROD), Master of Arts (MA) in Journalism and Communications (MAJ&C), MBA (Islamic Banking & Finance), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree in Business Education, Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing Management, Diploma in marketing and sales; and Certificate in Insurance from Chartered Insurance Institute, England (CII, UK). He obtained his first and Masters’s degrees from Addis Ababa and other renowned universities. He has also served as a frequent lecturer at various local private colleges and universities, and academic institutions, including the Ethiopian Institute of Financial Studies (EIFS). Currently, he is studying for his Ph.D. and LLM.
His practical career spans over seventeen in the Ethiopian Insurance Industry. Between September 2020 and March 2021, he served as Acting Chief Executive Officer (A/CEO), Ethiopian Reinsurance Share Company (Ethio-Re). He is presently the Executive Officer, Strategy and Business Development, and Secretary to the Board of Directors in Ethio-RE. he previously served as Manager, Business Development and Corporate Affairs. Prior to joining Ethio-Re, he served as Director of Marketing and Strategic Management, Director of Microinsurance, Strategic Management Team Leader, Principal Researcher, and Principal Customer care and Underwriting and Claims section supervisor, at the state-owned Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC).
He writes regularly for several magazines and Journals. He has contributed extensively to the world of Insurance and reinsurance and his publications appeared in various Business, insurance, and reinsurance Journals, magazines, and newspapers, including the Journal of African Insurance Organization (AIO) and African reinsurance publications.