Partners
About SWIFT Program
The SWIFT (Skilled Workforce for Innovation and Financial Sector Transformation) Program in Ethiopia is a partnership between the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and the Mastercard Foundation aimed at equipping 100,000+ young people in Ethiopia, 70% of them women, with market-relevant skills and capabilities that will enable them to drive inclusion, innovation and transformation in the country’s financial sector. The SWIFT Program targets young people who are either already employed or looking for employment in the financial sector and need upskilling and/or reskilling.
The lead implementing partner for SWIFT is BKP Economic Advisors (BKP), an economic research and consulting firm based in Germany, while the Ethiopia Institute for Financial Studies (EIFS), part of the NBE, is the delivery institution for the training and education activities. Running for four years (2025-29), the Program will have the following five main components:
2025–2029
Skilled Workforce for Innovation and Financial Sector Transformation
SWIFT is building Ethiopia’s next-generation financial sector workforce.
The SWIFT Program equips Ethiopia’s young workforce with market‑relevant financial sector skills, prioritizing inclusion, innovation, and national transformation.
Target
100,000+
young people
About the program
The SWIFT (Skilled Workforce for Innovation and Financial Sector Transformation) Program in Ethiopia is a partnership between the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and the Mastercard Foundation. It aims to equip more than 100,000 young people, 70 percent of them women, with market‑relevant skills and capabilities that enable them to drive inclusion, innovation, and transformation across Ethiopia’s financial sector.
The program targets young people who are either already employed in the financial sector or seeking employment and require upskilling or reskilling to meet evolving industry needs.
The lead implementing partner for SWIFT is BKP Economic Advisors (BKP), an economic research and consulting firm based in Germany. The Ethiopia Institute for Financial Studies (EIFS), part of the National Bank of Ethiopia, serves as the delivery institution for training and education activities.
Running for four years (2025–2029), SWIFT is designed as a national‑scale intervention aligned with Ethiopia’s financial sector reform agenda.
Partners
NBE, Mastercard Foundation
Delivery
EIFS, NEWFin pathways
Implementation
BKP Economic Advisors
Core components
- Expanding, revising, and developing modern finance education curricula and training modules.
- Establishing a training‑curricula‑oriented research and knowledge hub to inform financial policy, inclusion, and industry innovation.
- Establishing online learning platforms and digital tools to make financial training accessible to underserved youth nationwide.
- Supporting NEWFin (Network of Ethiopia’s Women in Finance) through targeted pathways for young women professionals.
- Upgrading EIFS’ IT infrastructure, curricula, and accreditation capabilities to support long‑term sustainability.
Knowledge Hub
Knowledge is not content.
Knowledge is not content.
It is infrastructure.
One of the main outputs of SWIFT Program is a Knowledge Hub designed to keep learning closely connected to real-world change in Ethiopia’s finance sector.
Research
Practice
Curriculum
Sector impact
Working with banks, microfinance institutions, capital market operators, and academia, the hub turns evidence into practical insights, and continuously updates training content across all SWIFT academies.
Watch this space. Research themes and outputs will be published as they become ready.
Explore the Knowledge Hub
