Ethiopia is the largest country in the world with a closed capital account and a functioning capital market. The current underdevelopment of its capital markets starkly opposes the vibrant money and securities market during the 1960s under the Share Dealers Group. The group was a network primarily composed of large banks such as the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Development Bank of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa Bank, and other private companies and individual investors. The increased transaction of financial assets prompted the state bank to formalize the Share Dealers Group and the National Bank of Ethiopia opened a department that oversaw its operation under its board chairmanship. Through the market, various entities were able to sell their shares to the public and had access to short-term capital by using equity securities as collateral. However, the group ceased to exist in 1975 following the nationalization of most of the member companies, stymying the development of the financial infrastructure.

Independent Regulatory Authority:
The What and Why
The necessity for regulation and supervision of the insurance sector is deeply rooted in the legal, sociological, and economic importance of insurance. Regulators are deemed as reactors, makers, and breakers of the insurance industry since they control and or facilitate the operations of insurers and related parties from their establishment up to their liquidation. This makes them highly responsible for the success or failure of the insurance market.

Global crises have grown in frequency and intensity over the past 20 years, with worrying implications for future economic development. The World Bank warns that the effort to reduce poverty has suffered its “worst setback” in a quarter-century, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inequalities are deepening within and between countries, and across many key sectors, from education to health.