Mamo Mihretu, the reformist governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), announced his resignation on Wednesday, ending a brief but impactful 18-month tenure that saw him spearhead some of the country’s most significant economic policy shifts in decades. His exit follows the recent introduction of a landmark directive poised to reshape Ethiopia’s fast-growing fintech landscape.
In a farewell message, Mamo stated he was leaving public service “to pursue other passions,” calling his time in government an “honour and source of satisfaction.” Appointed in January 2023, he was a key architect of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s economic liberalisation agenda, previously serving as the founding CEO of the nation’s sovereign wealth fund. His governorship was marked by ambitious moves to modernise monetary policy, transition to a market-based exchange rate, and open the long-closed banking sector to foreign players.
However, one of his final acts — a sweeping new directive for digital payment operators issued in May — has sent the clearest signal yet that the era of unfettered growth for fintechs is over.
The New Rules of the Game
The NBE’s new framework for Payment Instrument Issuers (PIIs) scraps the previous 2021 rules and introduces two non-negotiable changes that will force a rapid maturation of the sector.
First, the minimum paid-up capital for non-bank mobile money operators has been doubled from 50 million to 100 million Ethiopian birr (roughly $1.74 million). This revision took immediate effect for all new and existing applicants, creating a significantly higher barrier to entry.
Second, the directive makes interoperability mandatory. By November 2025, all mobile money providers must ensure their systems can transact with each other through the national switch, EthSwitch. This move effectively outlaws the “closed-loop ecosystems” that have allowed dominant players to keep users and transactions within their own walled gardens. Any peer-to-peer or merchant payments that bypass the national switch will be deemed non-compliant.
The directive also hints at new transaction and balance ceilings for certain types of digital wallets, though the central bank has not yet specified the exact limits. For Ethiopia’s burgeoning startup scene, the message is clear: scale up, open up, or get out of the way.
A Market in Flux
The new regulations are set to create clear winners and losers.
The primary beneficiary is likely to be the state-owned behemoth Ethio Telecom, whose Telebirr service dominates the market with over 40 million registered users. With deep state pockets and massive infrastructure, meeting the new capital requirement is trivial. While forced interoperability means it must open its network to rivals, its enormous user base gives it a powerful head start that will be difficult to challenge.
Skeptics argue the capital hike will stifle innovation by filtering out smaller, less-capitalized startups that were just beginning to find their footing. For these early-stage fintechs, raising $1.74 million in a frontier market is a formidable challenge. The policy is seen by some as a move that will inevitably consolidate the market around a few giants with telecom or banking muscle.
Optimists, however, believe the rules will professionalise the sector, enhance financial stability, and build consumer trust by ensuring only well-funded and resilient companies can operate. A six-month grace period has been granted for operators to comply with the technical and interoperability rules, but the capital requirement is already in force.
Mamo’s Legacy and the Bigger Picture
The fintech directive was a core part of Mamo’s broader vision to modernise Ethiopia’s financial system. During his tenure, he oversaw the legislation that will, for the first time in modern history, allow foreign banks to acquire up to a 40% stake in local lenders. He also helped secure $10.5 billion in financing from partners like the IMF and the World Bank to shore up the economy.
His achievements were not without controversy. The managed float of the Ethiopian birr, designed to ease chronic foreign exchange shortages, also contributed to a sharp rise in the cost of living, squeezing households already hit by high inflation. In his farewell note, Mamo acknowledged that foreign currency reserves had tripled and inflation had fallen to a seven-year low under his watch, while the value of financial sector assets surpassed 5 trillion birr ($87 billion).
His departure raises questions about the continuity of these ambitious, and often painful, reforms. As Ethiopia navigates this critical juncture, the fintech sector will be a key battleground where the tensions between state-led development, open competition, and market liberalisation play out.