Zemzem Bank, a pioneer in forming a full-fledged interest-free bank (IFB), has finished selling the minimum number of shares set by the National Bank of Ethiopia. As of October 11, 2019, over 1.2 billion Br worth of shares of the under formation Bank were subscribed, while over half were paid up. The Bank has offered shares for public subscription since June. Over a decade ago, the promoters of Zemzem Bank had attempted to form a full-fledged interest-free bank, following the legislation of a law. However, the attempt failed due to the issuance of a directive that limited IFB to window service. When the directive was issued, Zemzem Bank had already managed to raise 137 million Br in paid-up capital from the subscribed amount of 337 million Br from 6,800 shareholders. After the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) issued the long-awaited directive on the formation of full-fledged interest-free banking last June, Zemzem reinstated the initiative for the formation of a Bank. A couple more banks, including Zad, Hijira and Nejashi Kush and Huda, have also initiated a process to organise full-fledged interest-free banks. Currently, 10 out of the 17 commercial banks offer interest-free banking products and services.
