The 3,200Kg bronze sculpture, Charging Bull, was erected on Wall Street, in New York, two years after the 1987 stock market crash: The designer, Di Modica, is believed to have wanted it to demonstrate “the strength and power of the American people”.

Addis Abebans will soon see their own “black bull” erected perhaps in front of a building that is yet to come: the headquarters of a commercial bank under formation, Zemen Bank, on Tito Street (Kazanchis). The “black bull” in the photo is now kept on the ground floor in the building, perhaps waiting for inauguration, together with the opening of the bank whose promoters had hoped would have been on February 1, 2008.
 

Developed by three unnamed artists in six months, and made of steel, promoters of the upcoming commercial bank want the sculpture to symbolise their upbeat attitude toward Ethiopia’s financial market.

“We are bullish on Ethiopia,” said Ermias Amelga, chief promoter of Zemen Bank, with a paid-up capital of 87 million Br, told Fortune. “We are bullish on our business.”