Awash Bank Beings Work to Roll out Digital Loans

Awash Bank, the largest private bank in Ethiopia, has partnered with Service Cops, a financial technology firm in Uganda, to roll out digital microloans.

The partnership which makes Awash Bank the latest financial institution in Ethiopia to eye digital credit services was announced on March 28, 2023.

According to media outlets in Uganda, Service Cops will initially offer loans to Awash Bank customers before extending them to non-bank customers in all ecosystems linked to the bank.

With over 800 branches and more than 12 million customers, Awash Bank is a significant player in the Ethiopian market. In November 2022, Awash Bank became the first bank in Ethiopia to issue credit cards.

However, it has been slow to adopt digital credit services compared to other banks, such as Dashen’s Pay now and buy later, Dube Pay, Oromia Bank’s Michu, and Lion Bank’s Algenta. Meanwhile, Ethio Telecom’s Telebirr has already lent 2.1 billion birr to 1.4 million users, and 400 thousand customers have saved 1.7 billion birr on the platform.

Mathias Kamugasho, Service Cops managing director, was quoted as saying, “We will also be supporting the bank to roll out several digital platforms in the insurance sector, retail outreach, relief, and aid distribution in addition to strengthening the bank’s capacity to integrate and add several digital offerings to its customers.”

Headquarters in Kampala, Uganda Service Cops provides Financial Technology and Business Process Outsourcing solutions serving telecom, finance and banking, insurance, education, media, hospitality, and agricultural sectors.