If towns and cities are to serve as, and indeed are, growth engines of nations, they must have and be equipped with the necessary infrastructure. They, in emerging economies, have been growing fast, most often, outstripping the level of economic growth. This is, particularly, so owing to, among others, rapid and yet inevitable urbanization a fact that raises demand for services and, thus, poses supply shortfalls. Given this phenomenon, this article argued within the urban context, approaches and strategies which make infrastructure provision adequate and sustainable. It, further, expounded available conventional approaches and innovative options that could be tapped to finance infrastructure in urban Ethiopia in general and Addis Ababa in particular. Using secondary data of various institutions and organizations the study unearthed that urban infrastructure finances in Ethiopia and Addis Ababa were, practically, traditional where the public, foreign loan, and aid took almost all shares. The study, therefore, underscores the need to focus on innovative approaches through: active private involvement, integrated public-private partnerships, attracting foreign direct investments to provide efficient and sustainable urban infrastructure