By: Tewodros Balch
Ethiopia’s
national payments infrastructure operator, EthSwitch, has extended its
institutional engagement beyond digital transactions, mobilising its management
and entire workforce to plant 3,000 seedlings as part of the country’s Green
Legacy Initiative.
The
tree-planting campaign took place at the Entoto Kuskuam area, bringing
EthSwitch employees together in support of Ethiopia’s nationwide environmental
restoration programme.
EthSwitch CEO
Yilebes Addis highlighted the company’s commitment to environmental
sustainability, noting that participation in green initiatives reflects the
values of EthSwitch as a responsible national institution.
The initiative
comes as sustainability becomes an increasingly visible consideration across
the global financial technology and payments industry. International payment
companies and fintechs are exploring ways to connect financial infrastructure
with environmental impact — from carbon-footprint information and sustainable
payment experiences to nature-related finance and climate-focused financial
products.
For payment
infrastructure operators, the conversation is also expanding beyond the
environmental footprint of individual transactions to encompass the broader
role that financial infrastructure institutions can play in national
development and resilience.
EthSwitch’s
participation in Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative offers an example of that
wider institutional approach. Rather than positioning sustainability solely as
a feature of a payment product, the initiative connects the organisation’s role
in Ethiopia’s evolving digital financial ecosystem with a national programme
focused on environmental restoration and climate resilience.
Launched in
2019, Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative has become a major nationwide
environmental programme. The 2026 campaign has a target of planting eight
billion seedlings, with Ethiopia reporting more than 48 billion seedlings
planted since the initiative began.
For EthSwitch,
the planting of 3,000 seedlings represents a contribution to that national
effort while underscoring an increasingly broader understanding of the role of
financial infrastructure institutions — one that extends beyond enabling
payments to engaging with the communities and environment in which the digital
economy operates.
As
sustainability becomes increasingly intertwined with the evolution of financial
technology, initiatives such as EthSwitch’s Green Legacy participation provide
another perspective on how payments infrastructure companies are defining their
responsibilities alongside the growth of digital finance.
