Ethiopians in Diaspora Remit $2.4 Billion Via CBE in Nine-Month

DDIS ABABA – The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has secured close to 2.4 billion USD remittance over the past nine months, state-run news agency reported on Sunday.

Last month, Ethiopia’s Diaspora Agency said the country secured a total of 2.3 billion US dollars in remittance in the first 8 months of the current 2020/21 fiscal year, which started on July 8, 2020.

The latest figure disclosed by CBE shows the majority of the remittance Ethiopians abroad sent to the country came through the state-run bank.

“Remittance from the Ethiopian Diaspora is critically important to the country’s foreign exchange growth,”
Yohannes Liqu, CBE’s Hawala Services Manager, told The Ethiopian News Agency.

He, however, said illicit money transfer through the black market has remained to be a major challenge and continued to harm the country.

The illicit market has a negative impact on CBE’s ambition to support the nation’s developmental activities by reducing foreign currency, the manager complained.

He urged Ethiopians in diaspora to remit their money through a legal channel saying sending money legally will help not only families but also their country’s economy.

Ethiopians residing in North America, Europe, and the Middle East are among the major remitters of foreign currency to Ethiopia.

The East African nation expects a total of 4 billion US dollars to be remitted during the entire 2020/21 fiscal year.