Ethiopia Finance Forum puts cyber resilience and digital infrastructure on the agenda
The Addis Ababa programme brought regulators, banks and technology companies into discussions on cyber risk, interoperable payments and digital public infrastructure.
Ethiopia's Finance Forum closed in Addis Ababa on October 1 after three days of discussions on banking reform, digital financial services and the infrastructure needed to support a more connected financial system.
The programme brought the National Bank of Ethiopia, commercial banks, fintech companies, telecom operators and development institutions to the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum. Technology sessions moved beyond product demonstrations to questions about cyber risk, payment interoperability and the use of artificial intelligence in finance.
Fintech companies share the stage with banks
The Finance Forward programme included presentations from ArifPay, Chapa, EthSwitch, YagoutPay and Kacha Digital Financial Service. Ethio Telecom, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and several private banks also took part. This mix reflects a financial market in which payment providers, mobile operators and banks increasingly depend on the same digital infrastructure.
On the final day, FaydaVerse presented work around Ethiopia's digital public infrastructure. The wider programme also covered financial market systems, foreign exchange flows and the links between payments, securities and data services.
Cybersecurity becomes a financial stability issue
A dedicated session examined how financial institutions can prepare for incidents that affect more than one company. The agenda covered third-party technology dependencies, secure adoption of RegTech and SupTech, artificial intelligence and coordination between institutions during an attack or outage.
That discussion is timely because digital finance creates shared points of failure. A problem at a payment switch, identity service, cloud provider or telecom network can interrupt several services at once. Banks and fintechs need internal security controls, but they also need clear reporting channels and tested plans for responding together.
The forum did not announce a single new national technology policy. Its value was in putting regulators and operators in the same room while Ethiopia opens more of its financial sector and expands digital services. The follow-up will matter: technical standards, procurement decisions and regulatory guidance will determine which ideas move from conference sessions into working systems.
Technology talent remains part of that equation. In a separate October 1 interview with the Ethiopian News Agency, JICA adviser and BCG East Africa managing director Takeshi Oikawa pointed to local talent and government support for startups as factors that could help Ethiopia contribute more to Africa's digital economy.
The final day's agenda connected technology with the mechanics of financial reform. One session looked at how payment, securities, foreign-exchange and data systems can work together more effectively. Another examined cyber resilience and third-party dependencies. These subjects are closely related: greater interoperability can make services easier to use, while also increasing the number of institutions affected when shared infrastructure fails.
The forum also gave local providers a chance to present alongside established banks. That visibility is useful, but procurement and integration will be the stronger measure of progress. Ethiopia's digital finance market will need systems that can exchange data safely, resolve failed transactions and keep working during outages. Regulators must also decide how responsibility is shared when several companies participate in one service.