Economy

Ethiopia’s Diaspora Remittances Reach $8.2 Billion in 2025/26 Fiscal Year

Ethiopian Business Review · 2 weeks ago · Read the Full Story on Ethiopian Business Review
Ethiopia’s Diaspora Remittances Reach $8.2 Billion in 2025/26 Fiscal Year
AI SUMMARY

Ethiopia’s diaspora remittances reached $8.2 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year, driven by homegrown economic reforms and an increase in formal banking channel usage.

  • Ethiopia's diaspora remittances rose to $8.2 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year, up from $7.1 billion the previous year.
  • Over the past five years, total remittances sent to Ethiopia reached approximately $32.4 billion.
  • The growth is attributed to the country's Homegrown Economic Reform program, banking reforms, and the transition to a market-based foreign exchange system.
  • In 2024, Ethiopia ranked fourth in Africa for remittance inflows, behind Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco.
  • An estimated 78 percent of remittance inflows have historically moved through informal networks like hawala and black-market dealers.
  • There are 76 money transfer operators registered with the National Bank of Ethiopia, with digital platforms like Kacha, Telebirr, and M-Pesa helping transition funds to formal channels.
  • To formalize remittance flows and protect workers, Ethiopia has signed labor agreements with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Italy.