Dashen Bank (officially Dashen Bank S.C.) is a private commercial bank in Ethiopia. It was established on September 20, 1995, under the Commercial Code of Ethiopia and the Licensing and Supervision of Banking Business Proclamation No. 84/1994, and began operations on January 1, 1996. The bank is named after Ras Dashen, the highest mountain in Ethiopia, located in the Simien Mountains National Park.
History and Founding
Dashen Bank was founded by 11 businessmen and professionals with an initial paid-up capital of 14.9 million Ethiopian Birr. The founders chose the name "Dashen" to symbolize their aspiration to reach the top of the banking business, drawing parallels between the mountain's unique characteristics—including its status as the habitat of rare wildlife such as the Walia Ibex, Gelada Baboon, and Lammergeyer—and the bank's ambition to provide unique, reliable, and efficient services.
Operations and Network
Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Dashen Bank is one of the largest private banks in Ethiopia. As of mid-2025, it operated through a network of more than 900 branches, nine dedicated Forex Bureaus, over 1,100 ATMs, and more than 2,000 Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals across the country. The bank employed approximately 19,100 staff as of June 2025. It maintains correspondent banking relationships with 462 banks in 70 countries and 170 cities worldwide.
Products and Services
Dashen Bank offers a full range of commercial banking services, including:
- Retail and Corporate Banking: Deposit accounts, loans (working capital, term loans, overdrafts, merchandise loans, project/investment loans), and trade finance services (letters of credit).
- Digital Banking: Dashen Mobile Plus (mobile banking app), USSD banking (*996#), Internet banking, and the Dashen SuperApp (launched in 2024, with 636,000 active subscribers and ETB 48 billion in transactions by June 2025).
- Card Services: The bank is the first in Ethiopia to provide full-fledged payment card services as a principal plus member of American Express (AMEX), Visa, MasterCard, and UnionPay. It is the exclusive issuer and acquirer of American Express cards in Ethiopia.
- Interest-Free Banking (IFB): A Sharia-compliant banking service branded as "Sharik", offered through dedicated windows in conventional branches and over 70 full-fledged IFB branches, serving more than 1 million customers.
- Diaspora Banking: Specialized products for the Ethiopian diaspora, including foreign currency deposit accounts, mortgage, car, and personal financing, and international debit cards.
- International Money Transfers: Partnerships with Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria, WorldRemit, and other money transfer operators.
- Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): In partnership with EagleLion System Technology, Dashen launched DubeAle, Ethiopia's first BNPL product, working with over 16,000 merchants.
Financial Performance
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025:
- Total revenue: ETB 31.4 billion (up 34% year-on-year)
- Pre-tax profit: ETB 6.7 billion (up 5.1%)
- Total assets: ETB 254.5 billion (up 38.5%)
- Total deposits: ETB 202.2 billion (up 38.7%)
- Loans and advances to customers: ETB 123.3 billion
- Capital adequacy ratio: 14.0% (above the National Bank of Ethiopia's minimum of 8.0%)
- Non-performing loans ratio: 4.6%
Shareholding and Listing
As of June 2025, Dashen Bank had 4,937 shareholders. In December 2024, the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) approved the registration of the bank's securities, and the bank launched a rights offer to raise approximately ETB 6.4 billion (about USD 41.1 million) in new capital. The bank was preparing for a listing on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), planned for February 2026.
International Partnerships
The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO approved a senior loan facility of up to USD 20 million to Dashen Bank in 2023, marking FMO's first direct loan to a financial institution in Ethiopia. The facility was designated for on-lending to agriculture and export-oriented clients.
Recognition and Market Position
Dashen Bank is consistently described as one of the most reputable brands in the Ethiopian banking market. As of 2024, it ranked as the third-largest private commercial bank in Ethiopia by total assets, deposits, and loans, holding approximately 11% market share and 14.6% of private banks' profits. The bank's stated aspiration is to be the "Best in class Bank in Africa."
