FinWise Ethiopia Validation Workshop Calls for Collaboration to Expand Fintech Solutions to Underserved Communities

Addis Ababa, March 12, 2026 – Stakeholders from government, financial institutions, telecom operators, development partners, and fintech innovators gathered today at the Monarch Parkview Hotel for the FinWise Scoping Study Validation Workshop, a key step toward strengthening Ethiopia’s digital financial ecosystem and expanding services to marginalized communities.

The workshop, organized by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), focused on validating research findings on Ethiopia’s fintech landscape and identifying collaborative solutions to improve financial inclusion.

Opening the event, Boru Shana, Deputy CEO of EDI, emphasized the urgent need for partnership across the financial ecosystem.

“We need collaboration to become a fintech solution provider for abandoned and financially marginalized areas,” he said, urging banks, regulators, telecom operators, and innovators to work together to deliver inclusive financial services.

He noted that Ethiopia’s economic transformation and entrepreneurship agenda depend heavily on expanding financial access through technology-driven solutions.

The FinWise Ethiopia initiative is a 12-month pilot program designed to empower fintech startups to build inclusive, sustainable, and technology-driven financial services targeting underserved populations.The program aims to support early-stage innovators through Acceleration and mentorship programs, Business development services, Market integration and partnerships and Seed funding for pilot projects. According to Endashaw Tesfaye, Digital Financial Services Expert, United Nations Capital Development Fund, the accelerator received more than 300 applications from across Ethiopia, from which 30 high-potential startups were selected to participate in two cohorts.

To help startups pilot their innovations, the program has allocated 20 million Ethiopian Birr in seed funding.The top four startups from each cohort will receive grants ranging from 1 million to 4 million ETB to test and scale their solutions in partnership with financial institutions and Cash-In/Cash-Out (CICO) agent networks.

The FinWise scoping study highlighted rapid growth in Ethiopia’s digital finance sector but noted that usage and integration remain limited. The Research experts noted that the sector is experiencing “scale without depth,” where account numbers grow faster than actual financial engagement. Experts concluded that Ethiopia’s digital finance sector must now transition “from quantity to quality” moving beyond rapid agent expansion toward network optimization, stronger partnerships, and deeper financial engagement.

The FinWise initiative is expected to play a catalytic role in shaping Ethiopia’s emerging fintech ecosystem and accelerating inclusive economic growth.