Commercial Bank of Ethiopia signed an agreement for International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to build a platform to deliver electronic banking services, as the bank intends to use new technology for the expansion of its business.

The bank is planning to raise the number of its branches to 500, which is currently 372, in the coming five years and to boost account holders by 25 percent annually, from 2 million now, the bank said in a statement today. 

The 3 million dollar agreement is intended to develop a platform which will enable the bankto introduce new programmes for mobile and internet banking, the companies said. The platform will go operational by August.
The demand for banking services in Ethiopia is growing.

International Monetary Fund's report in April put the country's annual economic growth rate of 8 percent last year. Ethiopia is, according to IMF, the fifth fastest growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa, after Botswana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Source: Bloomberg