29th Connected Banking Summit – Ethiopia 2026 Concludes Successfully, Driving Ethiopia’s Digital Banking Future

29th Connected Banking Summit – Ethiopia 2026 Concludes Successfully, Driving Ethiopia’s Digital Banking Future Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 12 August 2026 The 29th Connected Banking Summit – Ethiopia | Innovation & Excellence Awards 2026 concluded successfully on 12 August 2026 at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, bringing together senior leaders from banking, financial services, regulation, technology, cybersecurity and digital finance to explore the technologies, policies and partnerships shaping Ethiopia’s next phase of financial-sector transformation. Organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), the summit provided a high-level platform for industry leaders and decision-makers to exchange insights and address the opportunities and challenges shaping Ethiopia’s evolving financial ecosystem. The programme placed a strong focus on payments modernization, digital banking, cybersecurity, financial inclusion, digital identity, E-KYC, cloud transformation, digital credit and banking innovation, reflecting the critical priorities driving the country’s digital financial transformation. Distinguished Leadership & Strategic Voices The summit opened with the inaugural keynote, “Ethiopia’s Financial Sector Vision – Stability, Reform & Innovation,” delivered by Seyoum Mengesha Tachie – CEO, Digital Economy Development, Ministry of Innovation & Technology, setting the strategic context for Ethiopia’s financial-sector transformation. The summit also featured senior voices from across Ethiopia’s regulatory, banking and digital-finance ecosystem, including: Solomon Damtew Metaferia – Director, Banking and Payment Systems Directorate, National Bank of Ethiopia Yoseph Kibret – Chairman, Ethiopian Digital Financial Service Providers Association (EDFSPA) Seyoum Damtew – Vice President, Information System Security, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Fikru Tsegaye Wordofa – Member, Board of Directors, Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) Tadesse Hatiya – Chief Executive Officer / President, Sidama Bank S.C. Daniel Parreira – SVP Sales – Africa, Thunes Djamil Jaddoo – Territory Manager – IOI, SADC & East African Countries, MBCOM Technologies (Broadcom Representative) Assefa Amere – Chief Information Technology Officer, Addis Bank S.C. Hassen Mohammed Ali – Senior Chief Retail Banking & Digitalization Officer, Hijra Bank S.C. Muluken Demessie – Chief Retail and SME Banking Officer, Nib International Bank S.C. Theodros Tadesse – Vice President Digital and Branch Banking, Tsedey Bank S.C. Kalkidan Mandefro – Director, Digital Banking & Innovation, Dashen Bank S.C. Gutama Ashana – Director, Information Security Management, Awash Bank S.C. Mengistu Gemechu – Director for Strategy, Cooperative Bank of Oromia S.C. Temesgen Taye – Director of Cyber Security, Cooperative Bank of Oromia S.C. Biruk Worku – Director Information Technology Security, Abay Bank S.C. Abdiselam Mohamed – Director, Digital Banking, Hijra Bank S.C. Robel Arega – Director, IT Infrastructure Department, Dashen Bank S.C. Bekalu Mamo – Director, IT Infrastructure Management Directorate, Awash Bank S.C. Khalid Ahmed – Director, Application and Database Administration, Rammis Bank S.C. Ermoniem Brhanu Balcha – Digital Innovation and Partnership Division Head, Berhan Bank S.C. Yibeltal Argacho – Manager, Digital Lending and Follow Up Division, Awash Bank S.C.