Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Last week, more than 100 AI engineers and data scientists graduated from sustainable access to finance to enable the Entrepreneurship (SAFEE) program, a partnership between Kifiya Financial Technology and The MasterCard Foundation. This directly supports Ethiopia’s transition to non-ruthless digital financing, data-driven banking and financial inclusion on a large scale.
The SAFEE program was announced in 2024 as a scale-up program designed to support micro, small and medium-sized businesses in accessing digital financial products. The purpose of this program is to unlock resources from banks, innovate new financial models and products, migrate the financial sector, and enable more MSMEs to access dequalified financial credit products.
SAFEE is a credit score-based digital lending platform for micro, small and medium-sized businesses, built on the success of MICHU, a large pilot with Oromia’s Co-op Bank, Kifiya and Mastercard Foundation.
Safee has promoted partnerships with six banks: Amhara, Bunna, Cooperative Bank of Oromia, Enat, Wegagen, and Zemzem (all exist today). Together, they paid over 8.2 billion Birr in non-financed source loans to 263,312 female MSMEs. To date, all platforms, including Michu’s large pilots, have collectively paid over 22 billion Birr to 600,000 MSMEs in all regions of Ethiopia.
“To expand access to finance, we need more than capital. We need the right people, technology and partnership ecosystem. Through the SAFEE programme, we ensure that Ethiopian financial institutions have the expertise to scale unloaned loans and reach millions of entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers. Foundation.
Access to finance is a key challenge for Ethiopia’s 20 million MSMEs and smallholder farmers. Less than 30% of MSMEs have access to formal credit, and most financial institutions rely on collateral-based lending, blocking countless entrepreneurs and underserved communities out of economic opportunity.
Like Michu, the SAFEE programme supports the change in the system of Ethiopia’s financial sector through three fundamental changes.
Using an AI-driven credit scoring model, we move from collateral-based lending to unsecured lending to assess risk and expanding lending standards. A small number of people have moved from large borrowers to large numbers of MSME loans, allowing banks and fintechs to lend to thousands of MSMEs efficiently through a data-driven lending model. Ethiopian banks, fintechs and financial institutions are building the capacity of the financial sector by ensuring the right AI and data science talent.
As Ethiopia moves towards a more data-driven financial system, young engineers with expertise in data science, AI and machine learning are essential to their success. Today’s graduates promote the financial sector’s ability to transform. The training provided by 10 Academy (a non-profit community-owned initiative that developed a scalable, financially sustainable, practical training program) offers hands-on training in machine learning, predictive analytics, and financial modeling.
“Borrowing money felt like such a big risk. But when the bank approached me, I explained everything clearly: how the process works, the terms of repayment, and how I use the loan to grow my business. It gave me courage. This loan is far beyond money. Misrak Abebaw, a participant in the Young Women Program, said.
Unusual opportunity for banks, fintechs and recruiters
Banks are accelerating digital financing and financial inclusion efforts by replacing large collateral-based borrowers with secured loans to MSMEs and small-scale farmers. This means that the demand for AI and data science talent in this sector will continue to grow. Today’s alumni in cohorts 3 and 4, and 74 alumni in the previous two cohorts, fill the gap.
“AI and data science are no longer ideas of the future. They are essential tools for financial institutions to expand access to finance,” says Munir Duri, CEO of Kifiya. “Through SAFEE, we ensure that AI talent is created and placed where it is most needed. Within Ethiopian banks, we can promote scalable, data-driven solutions that open economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and underserved communities.
In addition to graduation, the event also featured a roundtable of recruiters, fostering conversations with bank executives, fintech leaders and policymakers about the talents of AI in Ethiopia, employment requirements, and the future of digital finance. Additionally, there was a career fair that emphasized that AI professionals and employment managers were networked in real time, consistent with recent graduates and positions leveraging knowledge of machine learning, fraud detection and credit risk modeling.
About MasterCard Foundation
The MasterCard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. Working with visionary organizations, we promote education and financial inclusion, ensuring that Canadian youth and Indigenous youths in Canada have access to dignified and fulfilling work. Founded through Mastercard’s generosity when it became a public company in 2006, the foundation is a separate and independent organization from the company with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar and Addis Ababa. Its policy, operations and program decisions are determined by the Foundation’s board and leadership. For more information about the Foundation, please visit http://www.mastercardfdn.org/.
About Kifiya Financial Technology
Kifiya is a pioneering AI-driven ecosystem technology company dedicated to promoting financial and digital inclusion across Africa. Organizations specializing in intelligent decision-making, financial services, digital agriculture, and smart mobility solutions address systemic barriers that hinder the growth and opportunity of underserved communities. For over a decade, Kifiya has navigated through challenging and dynamic markets with adaptability and innovation, evolving from a promising startup to a leader in digital transformation. This resilience allows organizations to continually innovate and respond to the ever-changing needs of the communities they offer. For more information about Kifiya, please visit https://kifiya.com
Kifiya Financial Technology
Name: Henan Solomon
Phone: +251911296921
Email: hsolomon@kifiya.org
MasterCard Foundation
Name: simret yasabu
Email: syasabu@mastercardfdn.org
