Ethiopia finalizing preparations to launch Capital Market within two years

Addis Ababa January 27, 2023 (FBC) – Ethiopia Capital Market Authority (ECMA) disclosed that it has Finalized preparations to launch Ethiopian Capital Market within the coming two years.

On the sideline of Invest Origins (IO2023), an Ethiopian global investment Forum, Director General of Accounting and Audit Board of Ethiopia and Board Member of Ethiopia Capital Markets, Hikmet Abdela, exclusively told FBC Digital that preparations are well underway to launch capital market in Ethiopia.

The director general added that the authority is conducting pre launching preparations to implement the new market platform where securities such as shares or equities, bonds, derivatives or other related securities are bought and sold.

She said capacity building trainings in human capital is crucial to pave the way in realizing to regulate the Ethiopian capital market.

Human resource, turnover of banks and professionalization were bottlenecks in the past that hindered preparations towards the launch of capital market in Ethiopia, the Director General mentioned.

Capital Market in Ethiopia has a huge advantage especially in terms of the country’s economy where participation of citizen in wealth creation will be reassured, Diaspora involvement in finance, sharing of best practices will also be realized, Hikmet added.

“Traditionally Ethiopia has been a closed economy, while now we are opening up to the world and there are various financial systems that needs to put in place” Hikmet said.

She added that capital market supports monetary policy through an enhanced monetary transmission mechanism and promotes national savings, serving as alternative saving and financial investment vehicles for the public.

It is to be recalled that the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) was established after a consultation organised in June 2022 by the National Bank of Ethiopia.

NBE issued the Capital Markets Proclamation No. 1248/2021 in 2021 and established the Capital Markets Development Advisor for Project Implementation Team (CMPIT) to steer the operationalization of the Proclamation as an autonomous federal regulatory authority.

By: Yonathan Yoseph