Join us for this episode with Melaku Kebede, a key figure in the Ethiopian financial sector. He was the former CEO of Hibret Bank and is currently the Program Manager at FSD Ethiopia. In this conversation: Leadership, what it means to be a CEO of a bank in Ethiopia, Ethiopian banks expanding outside the country, foreign banks entering the Ethiopian market, leadership, the Ethiopian economy, board governance, FSD Ethiopia, challenges and resilience, and the drive behind it all. More from our partners: Dashen Bank Website: https://dashenbanksc.com Telegram: https://t.me/DashenBankEthiopia Noah Real Estate Website: https://noahrealestateplc.com/ BPO Partnership Form: https://forms.gle/PsAVBP1vXCvhKXFP6 thereliable.tech To advertise on Meri: https://meri.et/advertise 00:00 - Introduction 04:33 - Moments that shaped who you are today 05:10 - What is it like being the CEO of a bank 17:55 - Daily routine as a CEO of a bank 37:15 - Operations of a bank 59:35 - Credit cap 53:41 - Hotel and school business 01:04:00 - Future of Banking 01:14:27 - Mobile money and mobile banking 01:22:29 - Financial inclusion 01:31:44 - Foreign currency deficit 01:36:37 - If it was up to you what kind of bank would you create 01:43:20 - Leadership 02:15:25 - Changes in Ethiopia 02:25:42 - Board 02:37:57 - Current Role 02:40:39 - Rundown questions 02:52:19: - Life wisdom Social Links https://t.me/MERI_PODCAST https://twitter.com/MERI_Podcast https://www.instagram.com/meripodcast/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKNuQ80qNSpt2x-7dsazJg https://youtube.com/@Meriwoch?si=yIpJ3byprnVNwKi1 https://youtube.com/@mericlipset?si=wwa0KeQ_Nv2aPy9l https://www.tiktok.com/@meripodcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/meriethiopian/ Copyright Notice for Meri Podcast: All rights reserved. The content featured in this podcast is protected by copyright laws. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or modification of any portion of this podcast is strictly prohibited. For permission to use our content, please contact us at info@meri.et Thank you for respecting our copyright.