Dashen Bank Share Company has unveiled a 6.4 billion birr Rights Offer to its existing shareholders, a landmark capital-raising move that is set to precede the bank’s planned listing on the main board of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX). The offer positions Dashen, one of Ethiopia’s largest private banks, at the forefront of the country’s nascent capital markets as financial sector liberalisation accelerates.
The bank is issuing 2,206,906 new ordinary shares at a price of 2,900 birr per share, with the subscription window running from 25 December 2025 to 11 February 2026. The issuance was authorised by a resolution of shareholders at a general assembly in line with the Capital Market Proclamation, the Public Offer Directive and Dashen’s Memorandum of Association.
According to the approved prospectus, the Rights Offer primarily targets existing shareholders, who retain a pre-emptive right to participate in proportion to their current holdings. Each eligible shareholder will receive tradeable rights that can be exercised to buy new shares, sold on to other investors or allowed to expire, giving flexibility in how they respond to the offer.
Sector specialists say the transaction is central to Dashen’s strategy to deepen its capital base and fund an aggressive digital and operational transformation. A major outcome of the offer will be the subsequent admission of all Dashen’s ordinary shares—both the existing 14.3 million and the new issue—to trading on the ESX, with listing expected on 23 February 2026.
Proceeds from the capital raise are earmarked for several strategic priorities, including boosting regulatory capital buffers, expanding digital banking channels such as the Dashen Bank SuperApp, and supporting growth across corporate, retail, MSME and interest-free banking segments. The bank frames the Rights Offer as a way to position itself for scale and resilience as competition intensifies.
