Ovid Mortgage Bank officially launched its initial public share offering yesterday, January 23, 2024, looking to raise 20 billion birr in capital through the sale of 20 million shares. The share sale is aimed at establishing the paid-up capital required for the bank to commence operations.
Speaking at the launch event held at Skylight Hotel yesterday, promoters of the bank said the funding raised will allow Ovid to better fulfill its mission of expanding access to affordable housing and home loans across Ethiopia.
The bank set the minimum individual share purchase at 200,000 birr, seeking to make investment opportunities accessible to smaller investors. The maximum per person is 1 billion birr to maintain widespread participation.
Only 5 billion birr in paid-up capital is needed for Ovid to start operations, giving confidence they will reach their target.
The National Bank of Ethiopia had earlier granted Ovid a license to operate as the country's second mortgage lender.
Promoters of the bank believe the new institution will help address Ethiopia's severe housing shortage by enabling more Ethiopians to purchase homes.
The proceeds of the public offering will bolster Ovid's capital base as they prepare to launch a major housing project this year.
Many of the organizing committee members behind the newly formed mortgage bank are affiliated with OVID Construction.
OVID Construction hopes that the bank will be able to support their ambitious plan to develop 60,000 housing units in the Bole Bulbula area of Addis Ababa.
The large-scale housing project is estimated to cost 450 billion birr to complete. It is being undertaken through a 70:30 partnership agreement between OVID Construction and the Addis Ababa city administration.
The city administration has allocated approximately 460 hectares of land in Bole Bulbula for the development.
