Ethiopia: Up in the Air

Dashen Bank inaugurated its new headquarters on November 4, 2017, in a ceremony that government officials and the Bank's shareholders, board directors and staff attended. Situated right in front of the National Bank of Ethiopia's (NBE) headquarters, along Sudan Street, Dashen's stands 24 floors high, including three basements, with a parking space to accommodate 170 vehicles. At the inauguration of the headquarters that cost the Bank over a billion Birr was Tiruneh Mitafa , vice governor of the central bank. He met with the Bank's President, Asfaw Alemu (centre) and Teka Asfaw, chairperson of the board, before the Ethiopian President's speech commenced. Mulatu Teshome (PhD), president of Ethiopia, gave a speech at the opening ceremony. Mulatu acknowledged that the financial sector has benefited from the government's "market-oriented" policies and is showing admirable results. The president posited that the headquarters is a sign of the Bank's success.

Indeed, the 22-year-old bank is the second most profitable private bank, behind only, Awash, with around a billion Birr gross profit from operational activities in just the past fiscal year. The Bank's earnings per share (EPS), though having shown a decline for four years, still rated highest in the banking industry at 487 Br two years ago. MIDROC Construction was responsible for the finishing works on the headquarters that lies on a 3,495sqm plot, having been awarded the project two years ago, the same time the building should have been completed, according to Teka. ZIAS Design International Plc, a regional subsidiary of ZIAS Architecture+Engineering Pllc, served as the consultant on the building that houses eight elevators, a gymnasium and nursery rooms aside from the usual offices and meetings rooms. Just over five weeks ago, Wegagen Bank had similarly inaugurated its own over 800 million Br headquarters along Ras Mekonnen Street.

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