Anbesa Bank, formerly Lion International Bank, is an Ethiopian commercial bank headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Founded in 2006 and operational since January 2007, it was born from a broad base of shareholders that made it a pioneer in the country’s banking sector. Under its Anbesa identity, the bank’s stated mission is to deliver integrated financial solutions that build lasting partnerships and a more dignified life in every community it serves. Present across the country, it relies on its branch network, the Anbesa HelloCash agency banking platform and its mobile, internet and card channels to serve a wide base of retail customers, merchants and SMEs. Its values, captured in the acronym PARC, emphasise prudence, audacity, a result-driven mindset and clarity.
Anbesa Bank, formerly Lion International Bank, is preparing the next stage of its growth with SBS as a strategic partner. Hiruy Zemichael, Vice President of the bank, sets out a three-year roadmap built around the Digital Banking Suite, a data-driven infrastructure and artificial intelligence, with the ambition of becoming the reference bank for Ethiopian merchants and SMEs.
“We want to offer digital banking that goes beyond basic operations and genuinely improves the customer experience.”
Hiruy Zemichael, Vice President.
They chose SBS
Back when it was known as Lion International Bank, the bank had relied on the Sopra Amplitude core banking system since 2009 and was moving from a survival footing to a growth footing. The digital solutions available on the market were limited to elementary functions, whereas the bank wanted a genuinely smooth, accessible journey able to cut down on branch visits. Beyond the mobile channel alone, the goal was to lay the foundations of a data-driven bank, open to artificial intelligence and to third-party partners specializing in large language models, within Ethiopia’s specific linguistic context. Anbesa Bank chose SBS to support a three-year strategy aimed at multiplying its customer base tenfold and serving merchants, SMEs and young entrepreneurs first.
Interview with the Vice President of IT at Anbesa Bank
Discover how Anbesa Bank (ex-Lion International Bank) is advancing its digital strategy to better serve customers in a rapidly evolving financial landscape. In this interview, Hiruy ZEMICHAEL, Vice President of IT at Anbesa Bank (ex-Lion International Bank), explains how the bank is moving from survival to growth by upgrading its core systems and partnering with SBS. From enhancing mobile and web channels to enabling seamless digital onboarding, Anbesa Bank (ex-Lion International Bank) is redefining convenience and customer experience.
