• Withdrawals of any authorized amount remained free, but mobile money transfers that were once complimentary began incurring fees.
• Digital Banking account-to-account transfers now carry fees ranging from 3 birr for transactions up to 10,000 birr to 20 birr for transfers exceeding 300,000 birr.
• Mobile transfers to Telebirr and other wallets also attract charges, with a maximum fee of 15 birr for transfers above 10,000 birr, while internet banking to other banks largely remained unchanged.

• Ethiopia and Somaliland have agreed to explore closer financial cooperation, including the possible establishment of a branch of Ethiopia’s state-owned Commercial Bank in Somaliland
• Officials also discussed formalizing financial flows, regulating khat trade across the border, and enhancing banking access for regional businesses

• Afreximbank conducted a two-day roadshow in Addis Ababa, its second in four years, on June 2-3, 2025 at Hayat Regency Hotel.
• Ethiopia has accessed only USD 2 billion in financing - significantly less than other key members
• The Group Managing Director for Client Relations at Afreximbank said, "we can process and disburse at least USD 1 billion over the next 12 months to both the public and private sectors."
• Ethiopia has been a founding member and shareholder of Afreximbank since its inception in 1993, with key stakeholders including the National Bank of Ethiopia, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation.

• CBE is now offering an additional 10 birr bonus per dollar on all remittance earnings
• This effectively brings the total payout to 141 birr per dollar, making CBE the most competitive official option in today’s forex market.
• Private exchange shops like Ethiopia Forex are offering up to 149 birr, while the black market rate has surged to around 157 birr

• NBE has increased the import advance limit from 5,000 USD to 50,000 USD per import transaction
• NBE has improved the limit for Ethiopians who travel abroad to have 10,000 USD for personal travelers and 15,000 USD for business travelers; and these allowances can be taken by cash or by debit card
• Also, effective May 26th, 2025, all bank charges and fees related to the purchase of foreign exchange - for import of goods, service payments, or cash purchases - shall not exceed 4%.
• Also, starting in June 2025, the forex related fees of all banks will be transparently disclosed to the public on a regular basis on the NBE website
• YOU CAN DOWLOAD THE FULL FILE FROM NBE AT THE LINK BELOW

• ‘Zemen Gebeya’ brings together consumers, vendors, and delivery services, much like Amazon or Alibaba.
• It is equipped with a merchant portal, logistics management system, and a system administration portal.
• So far, 42 partner businesses and logistics service providers have registered
• Payments for Zemen Gebeya are made exclusively through the Telebirr application

• DEIC to take control of Bishoftu Automotive Engineering Industry and High Tech Engineering, both of which were previously under EEG.
• When the Council of Ministers established the Corporation in 2020, the rights and obligations belonging to Gafat Armament, Homicho Ammunition, Dejen Aviation Engineering Industries, and a fuel and propellant processor were transferred to it.

• The CCCA launches with 15 founding members representing key sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, and healthcare, with plans to expand membership across both traditional and emerging industries
• China’s recent move to exempt imports from 33 least-developed African countries from tariffs was highlighted as a concrete example of its commitment to open markets and mutual benefit.

• While the gap between the official and black-market rates has narrowed from over 100% to around 8%, the rates should be nearly identical
• Currently, many banks impose service charges exceeding 10% on forex transactions to offset losses. While banks primarily earn from interest rather than FX dealings, these heightened fees reflect efforts to compensate for diminished assets.
• With remittances and export revenues flowing in, banks can rebuild their forex assets over time, it is suggested.

• The facility, approved under the AfDB’s Transaction Guarantee Product, will allow Dashen Bank to issue letters of credit and other trade instruments backed by the AFDB’s full risk coverage.
• The guarantee aims to mitigate counterparty risk for international confirming banks—many of which have retreated from Ethiopian exposure in recent years—while enabling Dashen to support importers and exporters with improved confidence.
• The facility also supports Ethiopia’s aspirations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), where improved financial intermediation is seen as key to unlocking intra-African commerce

• Key conditions for disbursement included the government issuing a 900 billion birr bond, which is a prerequisite for CBE to receive USD 250 million from the World Bank
• The Financial Sector Support Program (FSSP) is a three-year initiative, with the first major disbursement expected by December 2025. By the end of the year, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) could receive up to USD 550 million, contingent on meeting additional conditions met by it and other entities such as the NBE and the Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH)
• The state-owned DBE is also expected to secure some of the USD 700 million in funding approved under the FSSP

• Will steer 10 billion Br to small- and medium-size enterprises, four billion Birr to finance smartphones and other devices, and 1.3 billion Br to micro-credit.
• Borrowers can seek unsecured loans of up to 130,000 Br or pledge collateral for facilities as large as 1.2 million Br.
• Personal loans range from 5,000 to 30,000 Br and can be repaid in as little as five days or as long as 45 days.
• Salary-based credit tops out at one million Birr and is earmarked for roughly 500,000 employees, while device financing offers up to 30,000 Br with a 20pc facilitation fee.

• the same rating it issued after Ethiopia failed to pay the first USD 33 million coupon on its USD one billion Eurobond in December 2023
• However, the rating agency upgraded Ethiopia’s Long-Term Local-Currency IDR to ‘CCC+’ from triple C status

• The directive allows foreign investors to engage in the export trade of raw coffee, khat, oilseeds, pulses, hides and skins, forest products, poultry, and livestock sourced from the local market
• In terms of imports, the directive opens the door to foreign investors in all sectors except for fertilizer and petroleum, which remain restricted
• To read the full directive  https://www.wahidbusinessnews.com/display-resources# 

- The directive mandates a minimum paid-up capital of five billion birr—approximately 39.7 million US dollars at the current average exchange rate of 126 birr per dollar

- Representative offices, restricted to non-banking roles, require 100,000 US dollars annually

- Licensing fees add further costs: 1,587 US dollars (200,000 birr) for investigation and 4,762 US dollars (600,000 birr) for a branch or subsidiary license—double the fees for local banks at 794 dollars (100,000 birr) and 2,381 dollars (300,000 birr).