2merkato

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) is in negotiations with the National Bank of Ethiopia to acquire a stake in a local financial institution, CEO Paul Russo has confirmed. The move comes as Ethiopia gradually opens its banking sector to foreign players.

KCB is exploring entry through acquisition while considering an application for exemption from Ethiopia’s foreign ownership rules, which currently cap foreign shareholding at 49%. The bank is still searching for a local partner before formally approaching regulators.

Ethiopia began allowing foreign investors to apply for banking licenses in June 2025, a landmark reform that could reshape its financial landscape.

For KCB, expansion into Ethiopia aligns with its regional growth strategy. Subsidiaries outside Kenya contributed 36.6% of group profit after tax and 34% of total assets in the nine months to September 2024, compared to less than 5% a decade earlier. The bank reported an 8% rise in net profit in the first half of 2025, reaching USD 250 million.

Analysts say KCB’s entry could position it as a benchmark for Ethiopian banks preparing for the upcoming Ethiopian Securities Exchange.

Source: The Ethiopian Herald

Ethiopia inaugurated new international airport which it dubbed Kebri Dehar International Airport and built in Somali State at an outlay of 500 million Birr.

KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEFI), the gold exploration and development company with projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, announces that the previously preferred Engineering, Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) contractor has been replaced with marke tleader Lycopodium Ltd resulting in better proposed financial terms and an unchanged timetable.

KEFI Minerals Ethiopia Limited has a new Head of Operations and Managing Director, Wayne Nicoletto.

UK-based KEFI Gold and Copper PLC has announced a USD 30 million investment opportunity for Ethiopian investors as part of its USD 500 million Tulu Kapi Gold Mines project.