In June 2019 Bloomberg and follow-on agency reports said Kenya’s Equity Group Holdings planned a commercial representative office in Ethiopia as Addis Ababa opened more of its financial sector, and Equity later confirmed the Kazanchis office under Hassan Maalim with a target to be operational in July.
Chief executive James Mwangi said entry into Ethiopia was part of a second expansion phase toward presence in ten African countries and would add a market of nearly 100 million people to a regional footprint that already included Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kept as banking and investment archive, the Equity move dates Kenyan bank positioning inside Ethiopia’s 2019 financial-sector opening.