Ethiopia

While Kenya’s mobile money success story continues to garner attention and showcase the promise of digital financial services, a different story lives right next door. In Ethiopia, a contrasting situation exists, given the nation’s history, geography, and infrastructure. The landlocked country has the second largest population in Africa, with most people living in rural areas in an economy driven by agriculture. A large portion of the adult population remains unbanked. In a country with a population of over 80 million, 45 million are of working age and 34 million are under the age of 14. However, 92%-95% of the adult population does not have access to financial services, despite the presence of 18 commercial banks and over 30 microfinance institutions.

While women across the developing world thrive thanks to microfinance—small loans that beget small, though often profitable ventures—Kelly Yohannes dreamed on a larger scale. She wanted to build an upscale, environmentally friendly hotel in Ethiopia, where she lives.But for that, she needed a large amount of financing from her local bank. It did not take long for Yohannes, a widow who had shared her hotel dream with her late husband, to realize that women like her face extreme difficulties accessing financing.