Dashen Bank and its European financiers, British International Investment (BII) and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, concluded the financing agreement for the USD 40 million fund announced in late August 2023.

The agreement is concluded today on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings being held at the Marrakech, Morocco, in the presence of H.E. Andrew Mitchell, UK’s Minister of State of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO); H.E. Mamo Mihretu, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia; Dulla Mekonnen, Chairperson of Dashen Bank; Michael Jongeneel, CEO of FMO ; Nick O’Donohoe, CEO of BII; and Asfaw Alemu, CEO of Dashen Bank.

The fund, which is the first of its kind after the introduction of the Foreign Currency Intermediation Directive by NBE, will be made available to Ethiopian agribussinesses engaged in the export sector.

Apart from the medium term financing, Dashen Bank will also benefit from technical assistance of the European financiers in the areas of governance, risk, environment and sustainability practices.