Sleeping Giants

AZA Finance plans corporate FX, treasury entry into Ethiopia, Egypt

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Banking Africa

By David Whitehouse

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Posted on October 22, 2021 14:22

Shoppers are seen outside a grocery store in the Kasanchiz areaa of Addis Ababa © Shoppers  in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 1, 2020. AZA Finance believes the country’s payments industry has a promising future.  REUTERS/Maheder Haileselassie
Shoppers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 1, 2020. AZA Finance believes the country’s payments industry has a promising future. REUTERS/Maheder Haileselassie

Africa’s largest non-bank foreign exchange firm AZA Finance plans expansion into Ethiopia and Egypt, CEO Elizabeth Rossiello tells The Africa Report.

The company could decide to enter the markets itself or by purchasing an existing license, she says. The “lack of competition for so long” in Ethiopia means high-pent up demand for corporate financial services, Rossiello says. “The market size is tremendous. We see the market booming in a big way.”

Analysts have said that further liberalisation of Ethiopian financial services will take place gradually to protect domestic stakeholders. Foreign direct investment in the country has slowed since hitting a peak of $4.1bn in 2016, and lack of rights to offer mobile financial services have delayed the country’s attempts to sell a second telecoms operator licence. The award of a second telecoms license, to include mobile financial services, is now set for January 2022.

Investment opportunities have been “diluted by a slower-than-expected transition towards a more pragmatic, market-based policy

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