Ethiopia’s national payment switch, EthSwitch, is exploring expanded cooperation with Huawei on artificial intelligence, payment infrastructure and cross-border payment connectivity with China, as the country seeks to strengthen the technological backbone of one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital payments markets.
The discussions took place during a visit by Fernando Liu, President of Huawei Digital Finance’s Central Bank & Non-Traditional Finance Business Unit, who met EthSwitch Chief Executive Officer Yilebes Addis in Addis Ababa. According to EthSwitch, the meeting focused on mobile banking innovation, resilient payment infrastructure, AI applications to improve efficiency and security, cross-border payment collaboration with China’s payment and clearing ecosystem, and technical capacity building for Ethiopia’s financial technology sector.
The discussions signal EthSwitch’s growing engagement with global financial technology partners as Ethiopia expands its interoperable payments ecosystem.
The timing is significant. EthSwitch recently reported processing 387 million interoperable transactions worth ETB 1.26 trillion during the 2025/26 fiscal year, while posting ETB 2.6 billion in pre-tax profit. The figures underscore the rapid expansion of Ethiopia’s digital payments market and the increasingly strategic role of the national switch in connecting banks and payment service providers across the country.
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