@NationalBankEthiopia – Ethiopian Business Review

SantimPay has officially launched FrankRemit—a zero-fee remittance platform developed in partnership with Bank of Abyssinia. The platform stands out as the first in Ethiopia to integrate all commercial banks and major mobile money services, including Telebirr, M-Pesa, and CBE Birr.

FrankRemit is a homegrown fintech innovation, built in-house and tested rigorously over the past two weeks with successful transfers from multiple countries. This rollout ensures users experience fast, reliable, and secure money transfers right from the start.

The official launch event attracted high-level stakeholders from the public and private sectors, signaling the platform’s significance to Ethiopia’s economic ambitions. Among the attendees were Tinsae Desalegn, CEO of SantimPay; Fitsum Abegaz, Ambassador at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and Director General of Diaspora Services at Foreign Ministry; Teferi Mekonnen, CEO of Oromia Bank; and Desalegn Yizengaw, Chief Customer Acquisition and Support at BoA.

“FrankRemit is the first platform to offer full integration across Ethiopia’s banking and mobile money landscape,” said Tinsae Desalegn. “We built this platform to address the frustrations of the diaspora and make sending money home effortless.”

The launch comes as Ethiopia nears one year since adopting a market-based exchange rate regime—a reform introduced in July 2024 to align the country’s forex operations with market realities. While sectors such as gold and coffee exports have flourished under this policy shift, remittance inflows still lag behind, according to Ambassador Fitsum Abegaz.

“FrankRemit is built to international standards and will help Ethiopia unlock greater remittance flows,” he said, emphasizing the platform’s strategic role in strengthening the country’s foreign currency position.

As part of its broader offerings, FrankRemit also introduces the FrankCard—a diaspora-focused gift card service developed in collaboration with Oromia Bank and Shoa Supermarket. This new feature allows members of the Ethiopian diaspora to send prepaid cards that can be redeemed locally, enabling direct support to families beyond traditional cash transfers.

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Cooperative Bank of Oromia (Coopbank) has achieved what its CEO described as an “unbelievable” milestone in expanding women’s access to finance, disbursing ETB 24.5 billion to 1.47 million loan accounts, 80% of which are held by women.

The announcement was made by CEO Derbie Asfaw during a panel discussion under the theme “Promoting Women’s Access to Finance” at the Ethiopia Finance Forum 2025, an event that brought together key stakeholders in the financial sector to address gender disparities and promote inclusive growth.

A major contributor to this achievement is Coopbank’s women-focused loan platform, Michu Kiya, which was launched just eight months ago. Since its introduction, the platform has disbursed ETB 7.3 billion to over one million accounts, signaling rapid uptake and a significant demand for targeted financial services among women.

“This is unbelievable for me,” said Derbie. “At Coopbank, we believe innovation isn’t just a tech solution, and financial inclusion isn’t a compliance box—both are part of our purpose to empower communities and transform lives.”

The milestone comes as Coopbank celebrates 20 years of operation, having grown into a ETB 189.4 billion financial institution. Over two decades, the bank has carved out a strong reputation for inclusive banking, now serving 17 million customers across Ethiopia.

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The Ethiopia Finance Forum 2025 officially opened yesterday at the Museum of Art and Science in Addis Ababa, gathering over 150 financial institutions, senior policymakers, and international experts to deliberate on the future of Ethiopia’s financial landscape.

During a high-profile panel on “Financial Inclusion and Deepening: Progress So Far and Priorities Ahead,” Abe Sano, President and CEO of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), offered a frank assessment of the bank’s efforts to broaden access to finance.

“Access to finance is something we should have done more about—especially for underserved communities,” Sano admitted. “We have long focused on empowering state-owned enterprises and major business clients, but we recognize the need to do more for individuals and MSMEs.” The CBE has yet to establish a presence in 270 woredas across the country.

Abe emphasized that while CBE currently serves about 140,000 personal borrowers and only 10,000 under commercial finance, the bank has financed over 782,000 customers with ETB 8.8 billion through digital channels. He added that CBE is not detached from digital transformation efforts like Telebirr: “We’re financiers behind those platforms as well.”

Notably, Abe highlighted the bank’s recent digital financing initiative for farmers, which has onboarded more than 927,000 users in Oromia and disbursed ETB 14 billion in loans. In the housing sector, CBE financed 349,000 condominium units worth ETB 112 billion. However, he conceded that support for micro and small businesses remains limited, with just 9,000 MSME borrowers. “That’s an area we need to scale up significantly,” he stated.

On the savings front, CBE’s outreach to women has seen considerable success. “We now have over 8 million women savers, holding ETB 145 billion in deposits,” Sano revealed.

SantimPay Launches FrankRemit, Ethiopia’s First Fully Integrated Zero-Fee Digital Remittance Platform

Coopbank CEO Hails ‘Unbelievable’ Milestone in Women’s Financial Inclusion

CBE’s Abe Sano Admits Gaps in Financial Inclusion, Highlights Billions in Strategic Lending