AfDB Offers $0.4m Fund For Public Disclosure Platform To Boost Ethiopia’s Capital Market
The African Development Bank Group and the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) have signed a grant agreement for $400,000 to set up a public disclosure platform and rollout new financial products including Exchange Traded Funds and green bonds at the Ethiopian Securities Exchange.
The grant to enhance the Ethiopia Capital Market Development Support Project, which builds on previous AfDB support, including the creation in 2021 of Ethiopia’s capital market legal framework, is being provided by the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund (CMDTF). The initiative.
The planned public disclosure platform, according to a joint statement, will facilitate timely and accurate dissemination of company information to investors, shareholders, and other market participants, thereby enhancing decision-making and fair price discovery in the market.
Under the product development component, new and diversified product offerings will be introduced, including ETFs, a type of investment fund that can be bought and sold on stock exchanges, sukuks (sharia-compliant financial instruments) and green bonds.
Commenting on the grant, Ms. Hana Tehelku, Director-General of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority, who signed the agreement in Addis Ababa, expressed pride at the collaboration with the AfDB’s “Capital Markets Development Trust Fund on this vital project.
“This grant reflects our shared vision for a vibrant and resilient Ethiopian capital market. The support for ECMA’s infrastructure development and ESX’s capacity building and product diversification will be instrumental in attracting domestic and international investment, propelling Ethiopia’s economic growth, and expanding access to crucial long-term financing,” she added.
Mrs. Akane Zoukpo Sanankoua, AfDB’s Manager, Capital Markets Development, who signed for the group said the “support project’s broad objective is to contribute to the expansion of Ethiopia’s financial sector and economy by improving access to long-term financing for the public and private sector through capital markets. It reinforces the Bank’s commitment to building resilient capital markets that can mobilize domestic and international long-term resources while unlocking new financial opportunities.”
The ceremony was also attended by Sebastian Beyenburg, First Secretary at the Embassy of Luxembourg in Addis Ababa, representing donors of the Fund, a multi-donor trust fund managed by the AfDB.
The CMDTF is funded by donors including the Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, the Ministry of Finance of Luxembourg and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. It was established in 2019 to support deepening and diversification of African capital market institutions.
As of September 2025, CMDTF has an active portfolio of $6 million covering sixteen countries. The Ethiopia Capital Market Development Support Project is the first project outside West Africa to be supported by the Trust Fund, which is seeking to expand interventions into other regions.
