According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), international banks and investors can now apply for licenses to operate in the country.

“NBE (National Bank of Ethiopia) is very pleased to declare that the Ethiopian banking sector is hereby open for foreign participation and that applications from foreign banks and investors can be submitted to NBE from today onwards.”

For the first time, Ethiopia has opened its banking sector to foreign investors, marking a significant milestone in the country’s tightly regulated financial sector.

This move follows the passage of a long-awaited law, approved in December 2024, allowing foreign investors and banks to establish subsidiaries, open branches or set up representative offices, and acquire shares in local banks.

While specific regulatory obligations and licensing timelines remain unclear, the central bank emphasised that the framework is designed to ensure transparency, stability, and adherence to domestic regulatory guidelines, ultimately supporting the development of Ethiopia’s financial landscape.

Ethiopia’s decision to open its banking sector to foreign banks and investors provides an opportunity for banks and foreign investors, especially Nigerian banks, to expand their operations, aligning with their regional expansion moves.

With Nigerian banks like FirstBank and Access Bank actively pursuing regional expansion, this development presents an opportunity to extend their reach into one of Africa’s most populous and underbanked countries.

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Analysing Google Trends data from 2022/23 on the #InternetShutdown, two of the three African nations – Ethiopia and Senegal – were the only new entries on the list with scores of 99/100 and 35/100.

Adding to this, Senegal’s 2023 purchasing demand for VPNs has reportedly increased by a massive 60,000%, and Ethiopia’s by 3651%.

Key insights on the findings:

• Searches across the top 10 countries increased an average of 97% from 2022– with not a single decrease showing that internet freedom is getting worse globally.
• Ethiopia was the highest new entry at #2with a VPN search score of 99 out of 100 due to the civil unrest that took place, with the government blocking access to social media in February 2023.
• African nations Senegal and Uganda feature in #9 and #10, respectively, due to their government’s continued efforts to censor critical speech.
• Turkmenistan was #1 across 2022-2023– with a max search score of 100 for both years – even though VPNs are technically considered illegal there.
• Afghanistan had the largest YoY increase of 156%, due to the Taliban’s continued efforts to censor Afghani’s internet.

The search and use of VPNs often indicates the need for citizens to bypass oppressive internet censorship (#InternetShutdown) imposed by their governments.

To understand more behind the results and rises, Techopedia looked at the political and cultural events that occurred in each country across 2023 and how they affected online activity.

Here’s a table breakdown of the research:

For additional context, the report also looks at the key insights of VPN users in general including VPN work vs. daily use, demographic data, and usage reasons. An infographic of this research (featured in the report) is open for use and can be accessed on this Google Drive.

Nick Francis, Editor of Techopedia, had this to comment on the research:

“Many of the countries featured come as no surprise considering their well-known restrictions towards online freedoms. The new entries and largest rises give an insightful look into how more current governments are quickly restricting internet access for their citizens as soon as civil unrest unfolds. It’s troubling, but not surprising. 

It’ll be interesting to follow these search trends going forwards and see how it correlates with further developments in each country.”

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Passengers must get their visa at the Ethiopian embassy in Abuja before beginning any trip there, according to a release made on Tuesday by the embassy.

The embassy does point out that the ban does not apply to travelers who are staying overnight in Addis Ababa.

According to the release “Passengers having a layover in Addis to travel the next morning to Zanzibar, Seychelles, Lusaka, Lilongwe, Harare, Cape Town, etc are not affected by the ban and do not need a transit visa for their trips.”

The post Ethiopian Embassy says no more Visa on Arrival for Nigerians appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Approval for the grant, from the Fund’s regional public goods window, came a few days ahead of the 35th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, which closed on Sunday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

On the sidelines of the Assembly, President Akinwumi Adesina, African Development Bank, and Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, African Union (AU) Commission Deputy Chair, met on Thursday, 3 February, to discuss the organization’s future and challenges. Nsanzabaganwa expressed the institution’s deep appreciation for the grant.

The grant will contribute to the Institutional Capacity Building for the African Union Project, a program designed to improve the AUC’s capacity to drive Agenda 2063.

Agenda 2063 is the African Union’s vision for “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”

It includes programs to boost Africa’s economic growth and development and lead to the rapid transformation of the continent.

In 2017, the AUC launched a comprehensive institutional reform process to make the institution more nimble, efficient and financially self-sufficient.

The project will continue those reforms through upgrading its systems, as well as improving planning, coordination, and service delivery capacities.

Nsanzabaganwa said the funds will cover three main components:  institutional strengthening; policy planning, coordination, and corporate service delivery; and project management.

In addition, it contains important environmental and social safeguards and gender-sensitive considerations.

A portion of the funds would be allocated to the AUC’s Disaster Risk Reduction practices, and Climate Change Adaptation mechanisms, while support for women will include developing the Commission’s Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Guidelines and Scorecard and related activities over and above the support towards the AU’s institutional reform.

The African Development Bank has been a long-term partner to the African Union’s development agenda, supporting programs such as its Development Agency-NEPAD program for infrastructure development in Africa.

It also supports the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the Climate for Development in Africa Program.

The total cost of the project is $12.6 million, including an in-kind counterpart contribution from the AU. Success of the project is expected to encourage similar contributions from other development institutions.

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