Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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:
The SWIFT Program equips Ethiopia’s young workforce with market‑relevant financial sector skills, prioritizing inclusion, innovation, and national transformation.
The SWIFT (Skilled Workforce for Innovation and Financial Sector Transformation) Program in Ethiopia is a partnership between the National Bank of Ethiopia and the Mastercard Foundation aimed at equipping, through the Ethiopia Institute for Financial Studies, about 100,000 young people 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, 70% of them women, 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. Running for four years (2025-29), the Program will have the following five main focus areas: i) Expanding, revising and developing modern finance education curricula and training modules; ii) Establishing a training curricula-oriented research and knowledge hub to inform financial policy and practice in financial inclusion and industry innovation; iii) Establishing online learning platforms and digital tools to make financial training accessible to underserved youths; iv) Supporting NEWFin (Network of Ethiopia’s Women in Finance) by providing targeted support for young women professionals; and v) Upgrading EIFS’ IT, curricular and accreditation capabilities.
One of the main outputs of the SWIFT Program is a Knowledge Hub designed to keep learning closely connected to real-world change in Ethiopia’s finance sector.
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.
We combine technical assistance, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and evidence-based analysis. SWIFT runs three targeted interventions that address root causes over time.
Train 100,000+ young people, majority women, through in-person, hybrid, and online learning.
Facilitate collaboration with financial institutions and academia to produce insights that improve practice.
Strengthen Ethiopia Institute of Financial Studies - EIFS to train finance professionals at scale and drive sector-wide transformation.