Sidama Bank becomes seventh company to list on Ethiopia’s securities exchange

Sidama Bank has become the seventh company to list on the Ethiopia Securities Exchange (ESX), extending a rapid run of new admissions that is expanding the country’s young equities market.

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The bank began trading on the ESX Main Market on Monday under the symbol SIDAX after meeting listing requirements set by the exchange and the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority. Its shares opened at Br1,300, although trading was thin, with only nine shares changing hands during the debut.

Sidama’s listing takes the number of companies on the ESX to seven, six of them banks. Ethio Telecom remains the only non financial company listed on the Main Market.

The admission also marks the latest stage in the transformation of Sidama, which began as a microfinance institution in 1994 before becoming a commercial bank in 2022. The ECMA registered 1,447,002 existing Sidama Bank shares ahead of the listing.

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Unlike a conventional initial public offering, the listing did not involve the sale of newly issued shares. Instead, existing shares were admitted for secondary market trading, allowing shareholders to buy and sell their holdings through the exchange.

The listing adds to a sharp increase in activity on the ESX this year. The exchange entered 2026 with only two listed companies, Wegagen Bank and Gadaa Bank, following the launch of operations in 2025.

Awash Bank joined the market in April, followed by Ethio Telecom in May, Abay Bank in June and Bank of Abyssinia in July. Sidama’s admission means the exchange has added five companies in just over five months.

The concentration of listings in the banking sector reflects the role lenders are playing in the early development of Ethiopia’s capital market. The new exchange is providing banks with a platform for public trading while gradually expanding the range of securities available to investors.

More companies are also moving towards listing. The ESX has said several major banks and other issuers are progressing through the admission process, including regulatory approval, securities registration and prospectus publication.

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Sidama’s debut therefore adds another bank to an exchange that is still in its early stages, while the growing pipeline of potential listings points to a broader expansion of Ethiopia’s formal capital market.

Faith Omoboye is a foreign affairs correspondent with background in History and International relations. Her work focuses on African politics, diplomacy, and global governance.