Equity bank set to begin operations in Ethiopia ▷ Kenya News

- Equity bank will start full operations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 2019

- The financial institution has already set up a Commercial Representative Office

- According to the CEO, this is part of the bank's phase two of expansion in pursuit of being a Pan African Bank

- Equity Group had earlier announced its entry into Zambia and Mozambique

- This was after striking a preliminary agreement with Atlas Mara Limited to exchange ordinary shares in the Group

Equity Bank is set to commence its operations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 2019, as it has already set up a Commercial Representative Office.

The office which will be based at Kazanchis, Addis Ababa, will be head by Hassan Maalim who brings a wealth of experience having joined Equity Bank in 2005.

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Equity Group CEO James Mwangi said the entry into Ethiopia is part of the bank's phase two of expansion in pursuit of its aspiration of being a Pan African Bank. Photo: Capital FM.
Source: UGC

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According to Equity Group CEO James Mwangi, the entry into Ethiopia is part of the bank's phase two of expansion in pursuit of its aspiration of being a Pan African Bank, Capital reported.

“Having completed Phase One of our expansion, the entry into Ethiopia is part of our Phase Two expansion in pursuit of our aspiration of being a Pan African Bank with presence in 10 African countries by the end of the year," said Mwangi.

"This will enable the Bank to continue to scale up and unlock economies of scale especially in this era of digitization and virtualization of banking," he added.

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Equity Group had earlier announced its entry into Zambia and Mozambique after striking a preliminary agreement with Atlas Mara Limited to exchange ordinary shares in the Group.

This was to allow controlling equity stakes in four banks operating in Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique.

With the addition of Ethiopia, the Bank will now have operations in a regional market including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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This also follows Ethiopia’s government appointment of a privatization commission and the ongoing reforms which are aimed at promoting a growing private sector.

The country has since been ranked as Africa’s fastest growing economy according to data from IMF.

Kenya and Ethiopia have been working together on various projects.

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The most notable being the LAPSSET project, where they have initiated a massive transport and infrastructure plans to link Addis Ababa to Kenya’s port town of Lamu.

The project also incorporates South Sudan, and comprises construction of ports, pipelines, new roads, airports and standard gauge railways.

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Source: Tuko.co.ke