Business Ethiopia’s Shareholder Base “Not Even Half a Million” ECMA Warns
The total number of shareholders across industries and sectors remains below half a million, according to the head of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA). Director-General Hana Tehelku warned that despite growing registrations and increasing investor numbers, engagement and awareness remain lacking.
“Based on rough data, [Ethiopia] has over 130 million citizens, yet the total number of shareholders across all sectors is not even more than half a million—and that figure is inflated. Once duplication is accounted for, it is even lower. Meanwhile, countries with smaller populations have far more investors,” she said during a ceremony marking the handover of a capital market service provider license to Prime Capital S.C, which is joining the financial sector as an investment bank.
“Although Prime Investment Bank has become the sixth to receive a license, there is still a lot expected of us to actually operate in this sector,” said Hana, noting that market participants had “brought together shareholders, raised capital, prepared documents, and even rented offices to establish an institutional structure.”
She described the current period as not only a time of capital market development in Ethiopia but also a highly formative stage for its broader financial system, urging newly licensed institutions to take a broader view of their role.
“The work we do is not merely transactional. It is not about counting activities, but about the role those activities play in the market and in supporting national growth and development by providing alternative financing options that the country needs,” she said.
The head of the Authority also urged firms to assess client needs in detail and study investor behavior, stating they must understand “what types of investors exist… what their risk appetite looks like… and the characteristics and backgrounds of the investor base,” adding that this requires “careful study and observation.”
On expanding access, the DG stressed the need to leverage technology, saying, “people should not have to come to your offices to open accounts… if we rely on that, we may only get hundreds of account openings.”
“In this era of widespread AI and technology, you must build systems, through mobile applications, websites, or other means, that allow people to easily open accounts and transmit trading orders,” she added.