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Addis Ababa – Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, concluded Day 3 of its annual performance dialogue with an in-depth review of the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE). The dialogue assessed the Bank’s financial and operational performance for the 2017 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY), highlighting both achievements and areas requiring strategic improvement.
According to the report presented, DBE registered Birr 18.0 billion in revenue, reflecting a 30.7% increase compared to the previous fiscal year. The Bank also achieved a strong performance in loan collections, securing Birr 24.0 billion. This figure not only exceeded the annual target by 5.0%, but also represented a substantial 51.6% growth compared to the prior period.
EIH executives commended DBE for the robust progress, particularly in loan recovery and revenue growth, which are seen as key indicators of the Bank’s improving financial discipline. The sovereign wealth fund also underscored DBE’s critical role in financing development projects and supporting Ethiopia’s industrialization drive.
During the review, EIH provided strategic guidance to further strengthen the Bank’s operations. The recommendations focused on four priority areas:
- Foreign currency generation: Enhancing export-linked financing and partnerships to increase hard currency inflows.
- Fund mobilization: Broadening resource mobilization channels to support the Bank’s growing project financing portfolio.
- Non-Performing Loans (NPLs): Implementing stricter credit risk management and recovery mechanisms to reduce the NPL ratio, which has historically challenged DBE.
- Operational efficiency: Investing in digitalization, streamlined processes, and capacity-building to improve service delivery and cost-effectiveness.
The discussions also emphasized DBE’s role in aligning with Ethiopia’s broader economic reform agenda, including industrial expansion, export growth, and private-sector development.
EIH announced that the performance dialogue sessions will continue with other state-owned enterprises in the coming days, ensuring accountability and providing direction for sustainable growth across Ethiopia’s public sector institutions.
