(3 minutes read)
· Ethiopia has introduced new bank notes to boost the country’s fledgling economy and reverse the hoarding of currency and illegal trade activities
· Exuding optimism, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the improved design and security features on new Birr notes for denominations of 10, 50 and 100 will make counterfeiting difficult
· A new 200 denomination currency note has also been launched. Ethiopia is spending more than US$97 million to print the new currency
· The Ethiopian government intends to turn the, low denomination 5 Birr note into a coin format
Ethiopia has introduced new bank notes to boost the country’s fledgling economy and reverse the hoarding of currency and illegal trade activities. Exuding optimism, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the improved design and security features on new Birr notes for denominations of 10, 50 and 100 will make counterfeiting difficult.
A new 200 denomination currency note has also been launched. Ethiopia is spending more than US$97 million to print the new currency. The Ethiopian government intends to turn the low denomination 5 Birr note into a coin format.
Ahmed said that money outside the banking system, generally referred to as black money (which is not accounted for) has been rising, affecting commercial banks ability to turn assets into cash. This, he said, bred corruption and illegal trade. Ethiopia last introduced a new money denomination at the end of the Ethiopian-Eritrean civil war some two decades ago.
