KCB Group announced plans to open representative office in Ethiopia to facilitate trade flow across the Horn of Africa and East Africa, The Daily Monitor reported.

During the release of the bank’s 2015 quarter three financial results in October, KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara said the lender had received approvals to set up a representative office in Addis Ababa.

KCB has representative offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

Samuel Makome, KCB’s Chief Business Officer and MD Kenya, told The Daily Monitor “The entry into Ethiopia gives KCB an opportunity to connect the Horn of Africa and facilitate trade.”

KCB has no specific date to open the office but said once it starts its operation, it seeks “to facilitate trade finance for our customers over the eastern African region”, including Ethiopia.

The Bank has an asset base of USD six billion as of September 2015.

Source: The Daily Monitor