Any businesses can now access loan from any commercial banks in Ethiopia following the lifting of the loan freezing placed by the National Bank of Ethiopia.
Implemented since August 2021, the feezing was imposed to weaken groups with an interest to "sabotage the economy." It was also a measure targeted at narrowing the gap between the parallel and the official exchange market, which reached above 50 percent before the suspension. It is now below 35 percent.
Though many businesses have been calling for the lifting of the freezing for long, the central bank puts an exemption for businesses involved in few sectors, including coffee and sesame.
