City Ushers East African Finance Summit

Jun 17 , 2023


[ssba-buttons]

The sixth annual East African Finance Summit took place last week, bringing together several players in the financial sector. Vice Governor of the central bank, Solomon Desta heralded Ethiopia's financial sector as being on a positive trend by indicating that the 109 financial institutions in the country had managed to amass 32 trillion Br in assets. He disclosed that independent regulation of the insurance companies is under development. With the impending entry of foreign investment in the local banking sector, Solomon advised commercial banks in attendance to 'get ready for consolidation'. The directives to govern the entrance modality of foreign banks are currently being worked on. Richard Keller, managing director of Genesis Analytics, cautioned Ethiopian private banks to get ready for intense competition from non-banking companies that provide mobile money operations by comparing the case of M-Pesa, which collects more in transaction fees than Kenyan commercial banks combined. He highlighted the underdevelopment of Ethiopia's insurance sector by indicating its meagre 0.3pc contribution to the country's GDP. Keynote speaker Brook Taye (PhD), Director General of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), said they would be issuing service provider licenses in two months.


Radar

Bank of Abyssinia Signs Partnership with Droga Cooperative

Bank of Abyssinia has entered into a partnership agreement with Droga Health & Financial Savings and Credit Cooperative to provide financial support and services for its members. The agreement was signed yesterday at the Bank's headquarters. The deal aims to strengthen collaboration between the two institutions, enabling cooperative members to access tailored banking services. It was signed by Wosenyeleh Abera, Deputy CEO for Customer Relations and Marketing at the bank, and Zelalem Yilma...


Radar

Wegagen Introduces Real Time SWIFT Tracking

Wegagen Bank has launched a new mobile app feature enabling customers to track international SWIFT payments in real time. The bank is the first in Ethiopia to introduce an online SWIFT payment tracking system. By integrating SWIFT Global Payment Innovation, customers, particularly those involved in import-export trade, can monitor cross-border transactions using a Unique End-to-End Transaction Reference (UETR) directly from their smartphones. To use the service, customers select the SWIFT...


Radar

National ID, Zambia Partners to Expands Program Reach

The National ID Program has signed an agreement with Zambia's counterpart to provide consulting services for the development of software that will issue digital IDs. It is the first time the institution has extended its expertise beyond national borders, a sign of growing recognition for its rapid progress. Program officials described the partnership as a milestone in their effort to position themselves as a regional player in digital transformation. The collaboration is expected to center...