Munir Shemsu

Can Foreign Banks Raise the Bar in Ethiopia's Digital Finance?

Foreign banks entering Ethiopia have the opportunity to leapfrog outdated metrics like branch counts or ATM networks and instead compete through superior digital financial services.

Safaricom Averages 30K New Customers Daily in Ethiopia

Safaricom Ethiopia invested roughly 300 billion Birr over four years on its way to 10 million 90-day active subscribers cementing itself as formidable competitive player in Ethiopia's telecom duopoly.

Gadaa Bank Becomes Second Bank to List on Ethiopia’s Securities Exchange

Gadaa Bank has become the second bank to list on Ethiopia’s Securities Exchange, registering over 1.23M shares. It joins Wegagen as the second bank to list shares on ESX.

BirrLink Receives Payment Gateway License from National Bank of Ethiopia

After over a decade in digitization, reengineering and BPO services, Faris Technologies is leveraging its institutional experience to launch a new payment gateway operator under subsidiary BirrLink.

A Halal Path to Ethiopia's Financial Inclusion

Sharia-compliant digital financial services in Ethiopia are at a crossroads: growing demand, limited offerings. Devoid of regulatory support and innovation DFS inclusion for millions remains at risk.

Debt Repayments Outpace Capital Spending in Ethiopia’s 1.93 Trillion Birr Budget

Ethiopia's draft budget for the upcoming fiscal year reaches a historic 1.93 trillion Birr, a 34.4% increase. But the burden of debt looms large, with 463 billion Birr earmarked for debt servicing.