Awash Bank Becomes Ethiopia’s Largest Ethiopian-Owned Private Taxpayer in FY2025/26

Awash Bank has emerged as Ethiopia’s largest Ethiopian-owned private taxpayer after paying ETB 15.77 billion in taxes during the 2025/26 fiscal year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Revenue. While Heineken Breweries Share Company contributed a higher ETB 26.10 billion, the brewer is foreign-invested, making Awash Bank the highest-ranked domestically owned private company among the country’s largest taxpayers.

Data presented by the Ministry of Revenue’s Large Taxpayers Branch Office show the bank ranked seventh overall in a top ten list dominated by state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested companies.

The ten largest taxpayers collectively contributed ETB 254.44 billion, accounting for nearly 49 percent of the Branch Office’s total annual revenue of ETB 522.67 billion.

Among the six organizations ranked ahead of Awash Bank, four are state-owned enterprises, one is a foreign-invested company, and one is a government-owned utility. Awash Bank is the only Ethiopian-owned private enterprise in the top ten, underscoring the scale of its operations relative to the country’s broader private sector.

According to the Ministry’s presentation, Awash Bank’s tax payment represented approximately 3.02 percent of the Large Taxpayers Branch Office’s total collections during the fiscal year.

The country’s largest taxpayer was Ethio Telecom, which paid ETB 65.84 billion, followed by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia with ETB 36.87 billion, Ethiopian Airlines Group with ETB 30.87 billion, Heineken Breweries Share Company with ETB 26.10 billion, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise with ETB 22.20 billion, and Ethiopian Electric Power with ETB 18.31 billion.

The Ministry’s data also highlights the concentration of tax revenue among a relatively small number of large corporations. Although privately owned companies account for 532 of the 746 taxpayers administered by the Large Taxpayers Branch Office—about 71 percent of its taxpayer base—they generated only 20 percent of total collections, equivalent to approximately ETB 104.6 billion.

Awash Bank alone contributed ETB 15.77 billion, representing roughly 15 percent of the taxes paid by all private companies within the Large Taxpayers Branch Office’s portfolio.

The latest payment builds on the bank’s contribution in the previous fiscal year, when it paid more than ETB 10 billion in taxes.

Awash Bank also remained the largest taxpayer among Ethiopia’s private commercial banks, while Bank of Abyssinia and Zemen Bank ranked among the leading contributors within the banking industry.

The figures come as Ethiopia continues implementing financial sector reforms and preparing for the gradual entry of foreign banks, a process expected to intensify competition while further expanding the banking sector’s contribution to government revenue.

Top 10 Taxpayers in FY2025/26

Rank	Taxpayer	Tax Paid (ETB bn)
1	Ethio Telecom	65.84
2	Commercial Bank of Ethiopia	36.87
3	Ethiopian Airlines Group	30.87
4	Heineken Breweries Share Company (Foreign-invested)	26.10
5	Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise	22.20
6	Ethiopian Electric Power	18.31
7	Awash Bank (Largest Ethiopian-owned private company)	15.77

Key Analytics

Metric	Performance
Tax Paid by Awash Bank	ETB 15.77 billion
Overall National Ranking	7th
Largest Ethiopian-Owned Private Taxpayer	Yes
Share of Large Taxpayers Office Revenue	3.02%
Total Revenue Collected by Large Taxpayers Office	ETB 522.67 billion
Revenue Contributed by Top 10 Taxpayers	ETB 254.44 billion (49%)
Private Companies in Large Taxpayer Portfolio	532 (71%)
Revenue Generated by All Private Companies	ETB 104.6 billion (20%)
Awash Bank’s Share of Private Sector Tax Revenue	≈15%