The Ethiopian banks expo will be held from January 11-13, 2021, in Addis Ababa, at Grove Garden Walk. The expo will have major financial and corresponding service institutions as participants. Held with the theme, #NoMore Black Market, the event will be headlined by major players in the finance sector showcasing their products and services tailored to the needs of the Ethiopian diaspora community.
Ethiopian Diaspora agency, communications director, Wendosen Girma said that “No more black market is aligned to the No more movement that the agency has been advocating avidly”. The director also stressed that banks need to work on incentives and lowering remittance service charges below 10 percent. He also highlighted that the Ethiopian economy has gained 3.6 billion USD through diaspora remittance but this figure could have easily jumped to 12 billion USD had exchanges not been made through the black market. The black market is a major bottleneck to the banking sector having robbed the economy 2/3 of the total remittance.
The event is believed to introduce finance institutions and their new services to the diaspora community and encourage it to subscribe for foreign currency accounts and other services which enable FDI and other conducive service provisions that will allow the economy to secure valuable foreign currency.
The Ethiopian banking and finance industry has been a major contributer to the economy since the early 20th century. Today, it has modernized its system, joining the digital world, which is believed to pave the way
in making its services time-saving and excellent.