en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ethiopia's national payment gateway, EthSwitch, is in discussions with Huawei to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, payment infrastructure, and cross-border payments, aiming to strengthen the country's technological foundation as one of Africa's fastest-growing digital payment markets.
During a visit to Addis Ababa, Fernando Liu, President of Huawei's Digital Finance Central Bank and Non-Traditional Financial Business Unit, met with EthSwitch CEO Yilebes Addis. The meeting covered mobile banking innovation, resilient payment infrastructure, the application of AI to enhance efficiency and security, cross-border payment cooperation with China's payment clearing ecosystem, and technical capacity building in Ethiopia's fintech sector. These discussions indicate that EthSwitch is intensifying engagement with global fintech partners as Ethiopia expands its interoperable payment ecosystem.
Recent data released by EthSwitch shows that in the 2025/26 fiscal year, it processed 387 million interoperable transactions worth 1.26 trillion Ethiopian birr, achieving a pre-tax profit of 2.6 billion Ethiopian birr. These figures reflect the rapid expansion of Ethiopia's digital payment market and the growing strategic role of the national payment gateway in connecting banks and payment service providers across the country.
Committed to providing interoperable payment infrastructure, EthSwitch has become a key pillar of Ethiopia's electronic payment ecosystem, supporting ATM, point-of-sale, QR code, instant payment, and gateway services to ensure seamless transactions among financial institutions. As Ethiopia continues to advance financial liberalization and modernization, the institution is playing an increasingly central role in digital financial services and financial inclusion.
Huawei has steadily expanded its global digital finance business in recent years, positioning itself as a technology partner for banks, central banks, and national payment infrastructure operators. The company provides cloud computing, AI, cybersecurity, and digital banking solutions to financial institutions in over 60 countries, serving thousands of financial industry clients worldwide.
Notably, the discussions involved cross-border payment cooperation with China's payment clearing ecosystem. Closer connectivity could ultimately facilitate more efficient fund flows, supporting trade, tourism, and business exchanges between Ethiopia and China, its largest bilateral trading partner. The talks also included strengthening local technical capacity through skills development and knowledge transfer.
The meeting signals the ongoing evolution of Ethiopia's payment landscape. With transaction volumes growing and the financial sector opening up, EthSwitch is increasingly positioning itself as a critical national infrastructure institution, seeking collaboration with international technology providers to drive the next phase of digital financial development.
