Ethiopian fintech startup eQUB is bringing group-based credit and savings accounts into the modern era via its digital platform.
Founded in 2020 by Alexander Hizikias, eQUB was born from a “deep understanding of Ethiopia’s informal finance culture and a frustration with the limited reach of traditional banking”.
“No one was building for how Ethiopians actually use money day-to-day – through group-based informal finance,” Hizikias told Disrupt Africa.
“The insight behind eQUB was simple but powerful – Ethiopians already save, lend, and build financial discipline through Equbs – but they do so manually, which comes with a host of challenges: record-keeping issues, trust disputes, lack of portability, and no link to formal financial services.”
eQUB saw this as a golden opportunity – not to replace the Equb (the local name for these groups), but to digitally empower it. Its MVP launched in late-2023, piloted across Addis Ababa, and it integrated with mobile money for secure, in-app payments and automated disbursements. Since then, it has partnered with more than 10 local banks and MFIs.
Adoption has been encouraging. Since launch, 75,000 users have registered on the platform.
“Monthly active users are growing at an average of 20–25 per cent month-over-month,” Hizikias said. “Most active users are in urban and peri-urban areas, though eQUB is expanding into rural areas through partnerships with cooperatives and community-based organisations.”
User feedback highlights how eQUB makes saving groups more efficient, trustworthy, and accessible, especially for women-led groups, youth, and gig workers who previously lacked a structured way to save or access pooled funds.
eQUB was initially bootstrapped by the founders and innovation-focused grants, while the company is currently in discussions with impact VCs and accelerators that specialise in African fintech and inclusion-tech solutions.
“eQUB is currently focused on Ethiopia, a market with massive untapped demand. However, the vision is pan-African,” said Hizikias.
“Plans are underway to expand into other East African economies as well. Diaspora communities, especially in the Gulf and US, where Equb-like practices continue informally. Localisation, regulatory navigation, and mobile money partnerships are being explored for each of these regions.”
