By Capital251 Editorial Team | June 19, 2026
Ethiopia’s young securities exchange has crossed a landmark threshold in equity trading, with the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) recording approximately 1 billion birr in equity transactions within a single week, according to ESX Chief Executive Officer Dr. Tilahun Esmael Kassahun.
The milestone, disclosed by the CEO in recent remarks on Ethiopia’s capital market progress, marks a defining moment for a bourse that has been operational for just over a year — and signals that investor appetite for Ethiopian equities is growing faster than many expected.
Putting the Number in Context
Dr. Tilahun was careful to frame the achievement with regional perspective. While 1 billion birr in weekly equity volume is a breakthrough for Ethiopia, he acknowledged that similar amounts are often traded within a single day on more mature neighboring exchanges in Africa.
The candid comparison reflects the ESX’s signature approach: celebrating progress while benchmarking openly against regional peers, and using the gap as motivation rather than obscuring it.
For context, this milestone comes as Ethiopia’s broader capital market infrastructure continues to mature rapidly. Total cumulative trading on the interbank money market passed ETB 2 trillion ($12.7 billion) in value in March 2026 — a segment that has dramatically outperformed early forecasts and demonstrated the underlying appetite for formalized market activity.
Two Years as an Institution, Built on Four and a Half Years of Groundwork
Dr. Tilahun noted that ESX has now operated as a formal institution for two years, following more than four and a half years of development and preparation — a period that included drafting the legal framework, capitalization, technology procurement, regulatory design, and issuer education.
That foundation was built through extraordinary effort. ESX CEO Tilahun Esmael Kassahun was optimistic that the new bourse would inject dynamism into the economy and deepen especially the debt market to the benefit of all actors in the ecosystem — a vision that is now translating into measurable activity across both equity and fixed-income markets.
The exchange was officially launched in January 2025 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rang the opening bell, marking the end of a half-century hiatus in Africa’s second most populous country since the nationalizations of the Derg era shuttered the country’s earlier share trading activities in the 1970s.
A New Listing Coming Next Week
In the same remarks, Dr. Tilahun disclosed that another company is expected to list on the ESX next week, adding to a growing roster of issuers that have already brought institutional weight to the exchange.
The ESX currently lists several major institutions. For the ESX, Ethio Telecom’s debut brought the bourse its most recognisable brand, while Awash Bank’s listing on April 23, 2026 was marked by a bell-ringing ceremony in Addis Ababa, with the bank registering 54.06 million shares with the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority and 37.8 million shares admitted for trading under the ticker symbol AWAB.
The exchange has been deliberately accelerating its pace. According to the ESX CEO, the target was nine listings before the end of the Ethiopian fiscal year on July 7, 2026. The forthcoming listing, if confirmed on schedule, would bring the exchange meaningfully closer to that goal.
The Big Ambition: 50 to 60 Companies in One to Two Years
Perhaps the most striking element of Dr. Tilahun’s remarks was his forward-looking confidence in the exchange’s listing pipeline. The CEO stated his belief that between 50 and 60 companies could be listed on the ESX within the next one to two years.
“We have the potential, and there are enough companies for that,” he said.
This confidence is grounded in a pipeline that has been building steadily. Dr. Tilahun noted that over 70 companies are currently in the registration pipeline on the equity side, signaling growing confidence in Ethiopia’s emerging capital market ecosystem. The ECMA said that more than 70 prospectuses are currently under review, spanning banks, insurers, and non-financial companies.
The CEO’s projection is also backed by a broadening incentive structure. Earlier in 2026, the Council of Ministers introduced a tax incentive for non-financial companies to list, cutting the business income tax rate from 30% to 25% for three years from the date of listing — a meaningful carrot for Ethiopian companies weighing the cost of going public.
Building the Market That Can Support That Vision
Reaching 50–60 listings is not just about persuading companies to list. It requires trading members, retail investor accounts, payment integration, and market liquidity. On all of these fronts, progress is visible — but gaps remain.
ECMA Director General Hanna Tehelku acknowledged that the foundational milestones have been hit, but flagged that investment account numbers remain very low — a reminder that the supply of brokers is now running ahead of demand from retail investors. As of May 2026, the ESX had seven licensed trading members, including Siinqee Investment Bank and First Addis joining the roster.
ECMA Director General Hana Tehelku noted in a May 2026 interview that Neway, the ESX’s mobile trading app, eventually needs to be linked with payment systems — a crucial step for users to open investment accounts, execute trades, and transfer funds — and that the authority is working extensively on this integration, benchmarking Kenya’s Safaricom-linked trading models.
The equity market’s 1 billion birr weekly volume, while modest by regional standards, is meaningful proof that once companies list and accounts are opened, Ethiopians are willing to participate. Scaling that participation — through financial literacy, payment integration, and more listings — is the work now underway.
Why This Matters for Ethiopian Investors
For anyone tracking Ethiopia’s capital market, the CEO’s remarks this week carry a clear signal: the ESX is moving from a proof-of-concept phase into an acceleration phase.
The weekly equity volume milestone, the imminent new listing, and the 50–60 company projection all point to an exchange that is building genuine momentum. ESX CEO Tilahun Kassahun has set targets of 50 listed companies within five years and 90 within ten, based on a solid pipeline of commercial banks, insurance companies, industrial firms, and SMEs.
If the next one to two years deliver even a fraction of that pipeline to market, Ethiopia’s capital market will look fundamentally different — and the investors and brokers positioned early will have the most to gain.
Current ESX Snapshot (June 2026)
Listed companies: Wegagen Bank, Gadaa Bank, Awash Bank, Ethio Telecom SC (and expected new listing next week) Pipeline: 70+ companies under ECMA review Trading members: 7 licensed investment banks / securities dealers Mobile access: Neway app (Android & iOS) Market regulator: Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) — ecma.gov.et Exchange: Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) — esx.et
Sources
- ESX Official Statements & CEO Remarks — esx.et
- African Capital Markets News — “Listings pipeline and other Ethiopian market news”, April 2026: africancapitalmarketsnews.com
- StockMarket.et — “Four Companies Set for Listing in Coming Weeks, Says ESX CEO Dr. Tilahun Kassahun”, December 2025: stockmarket.et
- StockMarket.et — “Monday Breakfast Stories: Now Seven in ESX”, May 2026: stockmarket.et
- Capital Newspaper — “ECMA eyes digital integration, investor trust to deepen Ethiopia’s capital market”, May 2026: capitalethiopia.com
- Birr Metrics — “Awash Bank Debuts on Ethiopian Securities Exchange”, April 2026: birrmetrics.com
- The Kenyan Wallstreet — “Ethio Telecom Lists on ESX”, 2026: kenyanwallstreet.com
- CapMad / The Exchange Africa — “ESX: The Ethiopian Stock Exchange That Will Transform Capital Markets in Africa”, March 2026
Capital251 is an independent Ethiopian capital market publication. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always verify service providers at ecma.gov.et before investing.