FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Fortune Logo

A historic chapter in the domestic financial sector evolution was scripted last week as senior federal government officials convened to formally inaugurate the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX). Governor Mamo Mehiretu and Finance Minister Ahmed Shide, flanked by state minister for Finance Eyob Tekalegn (PhD) and market watchdog Hana Tehelku, filed into the Sheraton Addis's Lalibela Hall to launch the Exchange. Under the gaze of bankers, diplomats and curious onlookers, ESX Chief, Tilahun Kassahun (PhD), invited executives from Gadaa Bank and Wegagen Bank to strike an inaugural bell, ushering in dematerialised trading of government treasury bills (T-bills), an instrument officials tout as a "positive-yield" alternative to aid and taxes. The shift from paper certificates to screen-based trades, they insisted, will tighten public-liquidity management while luring household savings and institutional cash into state coffers.


For the officials, the symbolism was as potent as the spreadsheets. Ahmed heralded the exchange as proof that Ethiopia can finance its own ambitions, while Mamo called the formal market "a strategic necessity" after years of relying on donors and soft loans. Hana, director general of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA), who spent time shepherding rules through Parliament, said listing T-bills should "instil confidence in corporate issuers" and clear a path for corporate bonds and equities. The sceptics have plenty to watch, ranging from settlement glitches to investor appetite, but for one afternoon at least, as the ceremonial mallet fell and electronic order books flickered to life, the long-promised market liberalisation felt within reach.




PUBLISHED ON Jul 13,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1315]

[ratemypost]


Related Posts

[ssba-buttons]

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.

Editors' Pick

Exclusive Interviews

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...

Agenda

Rising Costs, Inflation Threaten Insurance Industry

Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...

Agenda

BREWING DISCONTENT

Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...

Fortune News

Electric Vehicle Push Leaves Investors in the Lurch

Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...

Commentaries

A Citizens' Budget Promised While Austerity Creeps Through the Back Door

The Ministry of Finance, with its Citizens' Budget, has made efforts to simplify the...

Restoring Public-Sector Capacity Where It Counts

After years of underinvestment, governments around the world are struggling to keep p...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

Central Bank Loosens Credit Reins But Stops Short of Bold Overhaul

Oct 4 , 2025

Eyob Tekalegn (PhD) had been in the Governor's chair for only weeks when, on Septembe...

Exam Policy Fails the Test of Justice, Deepening Inequality, Disillusion

Sep 27 , 2025

Four years into an experiment with “shock therapy” in education, the national moo...

Addis Abeba's Setback Rules Leave Homes Flattened, Voices Silenced

Sep 20 , 2025

Getachew Reda's return to the national stage was always going to stir attention. Once...

In Climate Talks, Africa Mortgages Tomorrow Simply to Survive Today

Sep 13 , 2025

At its launch in Nairobi two years ago, the Africa Climate Summit was billed as the f...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

Arrivals, Departures, and the Human Heart

Airports are not just hubs of transportation. They are emotional crossroads, places w...

The Vanishing Sound of Joy

A sound is vanishing from everyday life. Not the static of landline phones or the chime of notifications, but something far more vital, laug...

Life Matters

When the Price of Survival Becomes the Ultimate Luxury

From daily observations I can no longer ignore, one truth has become impossible to shake: the very struct...

Fear, Fines, and Forced Obedience

The question of how to make people follow rules has always fascinated me. Governments and societies have wrestled with it for centuries. We...