From Share Dealing to ESX: Ethiopia’s Capital-Market Timeline

Ethiopia’s Commercial Code Proclamation No. 166 of 1960 created a formal company-law framework that included share companies. This legal base supported the growth of businesses whose ownership could be divided into shares.

The existence of share companies did not by itself create a modern stock exchange, but it made organized share issuance and transfer possible.

An Ethiopian Capital Market Authority historical account identifies the Addis Ababa Share Dealing Group as an organized market formed in 1965. With technical support through the National Bank, it facilitated trading in shares and bonds among participating institutions.

This was a limited and largely manual market, not the electronic, licensed and fully regulated exchange that exists today. Still, it is an important reminder that securities dealing in Ethiopia did not begin in the 2020s.

The nationalizations that followed the 1974 revolution greatly reduced the role of privately owned share companies and ended the earlier share-dealing arrangement. For decades Ethiopia had company shares and informal transfers, but no organized national securities exchange.

The country did develop other market institutions, including the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, but commodity trading is different from a capital market for company shares, government debt and other securities.

The decisive modern step came with Capital Market Proclamation No. 1248/2021. It established the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority as the regulator and created the legal basis for exchanges, securities depositories, public offerings and licensed capital-market service providers.

ECMA subsequently issued directives covering public offerings, exchange operations, service providers, market conduct and electronic ownership records. This regulatory work was necessary before public trading could begin.

ESX was built as a public-private partnership and licensed by ECMA in December 2024. It formally launched on January 10, 2025, with Wegagen Bank as the first listed company. Gadaa Bank followed in June 2025.

On July 11, 2025, Ethiopia marked the listing of government Treasury bills and the commencement of securities trading on ESX. The infrastructure brought together the exchange, licensed trading members, the Central Securities Depository and national payment systems.

As of October 13, 2026, ESX’s official equity list showed seven companies: Wegagen Bank, Gadaa Bank, Awash Bank, Ethio Telecom, Abay Bank, Bank of Abyssinia and Sidama Bank. The exchange’s list records Sidama Bank on September 28, 2026. The number of listed companies is a snapshot and can change as new issuers join.

The historical milestone is real, but the market remains young. Listing quality, liquidity, disclosure, investor education and enforcement will determine whether ESX becomes a durable source of capital and trustworthy investment access. A stock exchange is a venue and a set of rules; it does not guarantee that every listed company will grow or that every investor will profit. The practical test is whether companies disclose reliable information, investors can compare risks and prices, and trades can be completed under clear rules. For current listings and access instructions, check ESX and ECMA directly because participation and market rules can change. A company seeking public capital must prepare financial information, meet listing rules and explain its business to potential investors. After listing, it also has continuing disclosure responsibilities. Investors then weigh the company's prospects against the price and the possibility that they may not be able to sell immediately. The old share-dealing group and the modern ESX both involve buying and selling ownership interests, but their scale, regulation and infrastructure are different. The earlier group was limited and manual; today's licensed exchange sits within a legal framework established by ECMA and uses modern trading and settlement arrangements. This comparison is useful as history, not as proof that the current exchange will succeed automatically. That depends on companies seeking capital, investors participating and regulators enforcing the rules.