Known for its coffee, mountains and producing some of the best long-distance runners in the world, Ethiopia is now one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Over the last 15 years, the country has shown an impressive growth, averaging around 10% in the last decade. The country has weathered various highs and lows for decades, and Ethiopian migrants have continued to contribute towards the economy consistently, and in a big way.
The revolution and unrest that characterized Ethiopia’s political landscape in the 1970s led to migrating overseas. During this phase, most of the migrants belonged to Ethiopia’s urban elite. In years that followed, migration became an aspiration of most of Ethiopia’s urban people, for economic reasons. Eventually, even rural Ethiopians started migrating to countries in the Middle East for better job prospects. This phased migration resulted in an increase of Remittance inflows to the country as the migrants started to send home money for the betterment of their loved ones. Remittances became an extremely important source of foreign exchange for Ethiopia.
Even today, remittances play a key role in the Ethiopian economy, contributing over 1% to the nation’s GDP. The money sent by Ethiopian migrants also helps to improve the lives of families receiving the money, as the money is spent on education, healthcare, housing, etc. In 2017, Ethiopia received $816 million in remittances from Ethiopians around the world, with KSA, UAE, Oman, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, South Africa and Yemen being the top send countries. However, due to lack of advanced infrastructure and relatively higher cost of remittance, most of the Ethiopian Expats choose informal channels of money transfer. However, the government has made considerable strides in recent years to encourage the flow of formal remittance.
At Xpress Money, we have always believed in enabling migrants around the world with cost-effective, safe, and convenient money transfer solutions. We understand the true value of remittances and the positive impact they have on receivers and their nations’ economies. We have been a trusted money transfer partner for millions of Ethiopian migrants around the world and continue to develop new solutions to enrich their money transfer experience. Currently Ethiopians can send money as cash or bank transfer to any bank account in the country at competitive exchange rates and low transfer fees. Our network of 4,150 payout locations in the country makes it extremely convenient for beneficiaries to receive money within minutes.
We have partnered with some of the most trusted banks in Ethiopia to expand our payout network in the country. Our banking partners include Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (the largest commercial bank in the country), Abay Bank S.C, Addis International Bank S.C, Awash International Bank SC, Bank of Abyssinia SC, Berhan International Bank, Buna International Bank, Cooperative Bank of Oromia, Dashen Bank, Debub Global Bank S. C., Lion International Bank, NIB International Bank S C, Oromia International Bank SC, United Bank, and Wegagen Bank.
Ethiopia has a promising future ahead of it and remittances are going to play a key role in the country’s growing economy. As one of the leading money transfer brands in the world, we are committed to stand side-by-side with the people of Ethiopia who are writing their country’s success story.
