The Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) has granted approval in principle to 11 companies seeking to list their shares, a pipeline that would nearly triple the size of the market if every one of them completes the process.

The first of the approved firms, a financial-services company that the exchange declined to name, is scheduled to start trading next week, Chief Executive Officer Yodit Kassa said in an interview in Nairobi reported by Bloomberg.

The disclosure marks the clearest signal yet of the pace Yodit intends to set since taking over the exchange. She was appointed in early August, succeeding founding CEO Tilahun Esmael Kassahun (PhD), who resigned after leading ESX from its project phase through its January 2025 launch. Expanding the issuer base, deepening market participation and introducing new products and market segments were named as her core priorities on appointment.

Where the pipeline stands

Six companies currently trade on the ESX Main Market, with Bank of Abyssinia the most recent to join in late July. The 11 approvals therefore represent close to two years’ worth of listings arriving in a single cohort.

Approval in principle is a regulatory green light, not a debut date. Companies that receive it must still complete securities registration with the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) and publish a prospectus before trading can begin.

The known candidates are heavily concentrated in finance. In February, ESX confirmed that Awash Bank, Dashen Bank, Bank of Abyssinia, Abay Bank, Anbesa Bank and Amhara Bank had all received approval in principle for the Main Market. In July, four more followed, Ayat S.C., Sidama Bank, Nib Insurance S.C. and ZamZam Bank, with ZamZam the furthest advanced, having already completed securities registration and published its prospectus.

That concentration is not accidental. ECMA was reviewing some 66 prospectuses as of early 2026, more than 45 of them from financial services firms, the sector with the capital base, disclosure discipline and shareholder registers that make listing feasible in the near term.

The liquidity question

Supply is arriving faster than trading activity. Cumulative turnover since secondary trading began crossed 1 billion birr by the end of June 2026, a modest figure for a market of this size, and one that underlines why equity liquidity remains the central challenge rather than issuance.

Policymakers have been pushing on both sides. In March, the Council of Ministers introduced a tax incentive for non-financial companies that list, cutting the business income tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent for three years from the listing date. Authorities have also been preparing market indices and finalising the framework for foreign investor participation.

ESX has set a target of 50 listed companies by 2030. Converting 11 approvals into 11 functioning, tradable counters would put that within reach, provided the debuts are matched by depth on the order book.