Stanbic Bank, a member of the Standard Bank Group, is reportedly considering a direct entry into Ethiopia’s banking sector by setting up a new operation from the ground up rather than taking a stake in an existing bank.
Joshua Oigara—the bank’s Regional CEO—told Business Daily, a Nairobi-based business newspaper, that the bank is considering fully owned greenfield banking operations noting that the bank is “willing to take a longer-term view.”
The CEO has pointed to the early years of Safaricom Plc in Ethiopia as an example of how difficult but potentially rewarding greenfield entry can be. Safaricom Ethiopia has gradually reduced losses to 21.2 billion shillings, down from 36 billion the year before, while lifting service revenue by more than half.
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The move would make Stanbic, part of South Africa’s Standard Bank, one of the first major African banking groups to seriously consider a full greenfield approach in Ethiopia’s newly liberalized financial sector.
While reforms by the National Bank of Ethiopia open the financial sector to foreign participation, they impose strict caps on acquisitions, requiring Ethiopian shareholders to retain a controlling 51 percent stake. That effectively leaves foreign banks with minority positions if they enter through buying into local banks.
Stanbic, Bank executives say their usual model involves taking a meaningful controlling position in new markets, making a capped ownership stake less appealing. Instead, they are now considering whether building a new bank entirely could offer more strategic flexibility.
Other Kenyan banking groups, including KCB Group and Equity Group Holdings, have also shown interest in Ethiopia’s market, though many have raised concerns about entering as minority shareholders under the current framework.
Stanbic has maintained a representative office in Ethiopia since 2015, giving it a long-standing presence in the country.
