Tony Elumelu's United Capital wins historic Ethiopia investment banking licence in first for foreign firms

United Capital Group, controlled by Nigerian tycoon Tony Elumelu's Heirs Holdings, has become the first foreign financial institution to receive an investment banking licence in Ethiopia, marking a milestone in the country's gradual opening of its capital markets to international operators.

The Ethiopian Capital Market Authority announced on June 8 that it had approved United Capital to operate an investment banking business in the country through a local subsidiary, United Capital Financial Services PLC. The licence was formally issued on June 5. The regulator also approved five board members and licensed four authorized representatives to conduct investment banking activities on behalf of the new entity.

United Capital has committed an initial investment of more than $1.5 million to support its Ethiopian operations, according to local media reports. The licensing process included a regulatory compliance review conducted with the support of Nigerian authorities.

ECMA Director General Hana Tehelku described the development as a historic milestone for Ethiopia's capital market at the official licence presentation ceremony.

"The arrival of a leading pan-African financial institution reflects growing investor confidence in the country's economic potential and ongoing reform agenda," Tehelku said. She added that the new entrant could help deepen Ethiopia's capital markets, support knowledge transfer and strengthen regional financial integration, and expressed hope the approval would encourage other foreign financial institutions to explore opportunities in the market.

The approval brings the total number of licensed capital market participants in Ethiopia to 18, including seven investment banks.

For United Capital, the Ethiopia entry represents the second leg of a continental expansion that chief executive Peter Ashade has been building systematically since 2025. The group established United Capital Asset Management West Africa Limited in Côte d'Ivoire in May 2025, its first major operational move beyond Nigeria, and has since used that platform to extend its presence across all eight member states of the UEMOA bloc in West Africa.

"The last year has been dedicated to building institutional partnerships and connecting investors to opportunities across the region," Ashade said in remarks published this week. "With a solid foundation now in place in West Africa, we are ready to continue that journey into East Africa."

Ethiopia is a significant target for that eastward push. The country is Africa's second most populous nation with more than 130 million people, and its capital markets are at an early stage of development — making it one of the few remaining large African economies where a first-mover position in investment banking carries structural long-term value.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has been liberalizing the financial sector incrementally as part of a broader economic reform agenda. In April 2026, Ethiopia's central bank proposed reforms that would open the insurance industry to foreign investors, with ownership limits ranging from 40 to 49 percent depending on investment type, alongside enhanced capital, governance and compliance requirements. The United Capital licence fits within that trajectory of controlled, selective opening to foreign capital.

United Capital reported revenue of $43.1 million (58.55 billion naira) for the full year ended December 31, 2025, up 35 percent year-on-year, with profit before tax rising 37 percent to $30.3 million (41.18 billion naira). The group manages more than 1.1 trillion naira in assets across its subsidiaries and has grown funds under management by more than 1,353 percent since Ashade became group CEO in 2018. All seven of its subsidiaries returned to profit in 2025.

The Ethiopia licence adds a new geography to that platform at a moment when Ethiopian capital markets are still being constructed. The Ethiopian Securities Exchange, launched in 2023, has been building out its listing and trading infrastructure. An early-positioned investment bank with Nigerian capital markets experience — built across one of Africa's most sophisticated and volatile financial environments — brings precisely the kind of institutional knowledge Ethiopia's regulators say they are trying to import.