The Department of Management of the Addis Ababa University hosted the 1^st Annual East Africa Finance Summit jointly together with Jimma University, FDRE Public Finance Enterprises, the I Capital Africa Institute and AAU Business Enterprise on 14^th and 15^th of December, 2016 at UNECA Conference Hall.

Themed examining policies and practices brought the academia, policy makers, business leaders, experts, consultants and other stakeholders together from different continents to discuss challenges facing financial institutes in the region and share experiences.

The summit was subjected to create linkage between finance sectors, higher education institutions, policy makers and business leaders to overcome challenges and build competitiveness, cooperative and innovation which in turn drastically contribute to the economic development of the region.

Admasu Tsegaye (PhD), AAU President in his introductory remark told the gathering that the Addis Ababa University aspires to be positioned as a strategic asset in innovation and economic competitiveness and as problem solvers for socio-economic issues affecting the country and the region. “The university has launched the first international business school and business innovation center in east Africa, which would bring response to the challenges that Ethiopia and the region are experiencing during their rapid economic growth,” said Dr. Admasu.

The summit entertained various paper presentations pertaining human capital development, innovation, use of technology, global trends, business loan delivery in Ethiopia, modes of payment and challenges and prospects of business sector in the region.

Yohannes Ayalew (PhD), Vice Governor and Chief economist of the National Bank of Ethiopia in his presentation “missing financial institutions,” depicted that financial institutions are the driving force for economic development boosting saving rate, raising investment.

Further the summit is supposed to strengthen financial services in Eastern Africa introducing new reforms and upgrading technology for more expansion of cross-border banking activities.

H.E Kassa T/Berhan, Minister of the FDRE Ministry of Federal Affairs and Pastoral Area Development and Board Chairman of Addis Ababa University, while addressing opening remarks stated that Ethiopia and the many East African countries have made significant progress in economic front during the last two decades due to improved access to finance, however, much more is expected to build strong and sustainable economy.

The summit is the 1^st of its kind where government officials and renowned scholars from different institutions participated and reflected trends, challenges, threat, opportunities and ways forward to improve financial sector of the region.