The Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) announced yesterday on January 27, 2023 that it will begin accepting applications for investment banking licenses in two weeks’ time.
The goal is to inform potential licensees ahead of opportunities in the expanding industry. Officials at the Authority aim to facilitate a smooth licensing process once the portal is launched, in order to efficiently develop Ethiopia’s investment banking and capital markets.
The Authority said the application portal will open based upon the implementation of the new Capital Market Service Providers Licensing and Supervision Directive (No. 980/2024).
ECMA encouraged all interested in working in the nascent capital markets sector to review the directive’s license requirement guidelines in preparation. Applicants are advised to use the next two weeks to ensure they have all necessary documents and information ready before the portal opens.
Foreigners are allowed to register as investment banks in Ethiopia. The minimum paid-up capital requirement is 100 million birr for banks and 25 million birr for non-bank financial institutions.
