16 January, 2018 – Enterprise Partners (EP) in collaboration with the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions (AEMFI) held a certificate award ceremony for graduates of the Digital Money from cohorts of 2017.
The Certificate in Digital Money (CIDM) course offered by the Digital Frontiers Institution (DFI) is designed to teach and facilitate understanding on all aspects of digital financial services; including implementing and managing different digital products. The 12 weeks course is tailored to equip financial service experts and stakeholders in Ethiopia to contribute towards the national financial inclusion strategy and the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) II. While, the class is primarily administered online, there was an organised session at AEMFI called the ‘Community of Practice’, which created a platform for participants to meet once a week and share experiences, discuss emerging practices and identify key challenges to solve common problems with the broad and different uses of financial services in the market.
Members of the course represented financial sector experts, financial institutions, regulators, researchers and supporting institutions within the Financial Inclusion market. There were an estimated 30 graduates in attendance, coming from different areas of work including various commercial banks, MFIs, Ethio telecom, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MCIT), National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), (CBE) and financial technology service providers.
To celebrate the achievements of the graduates; three prominent invited guest speakers delivered key notes and shared words of encouragements. Ato Teshome Kebede, Executive Director of AEMFI, remarked the importance of sustainable development in striving to face challenges of the financial Institution sector. Ato Michael Addissu, Technical Director of EP noted the importance of implementing intervention ideas to create significant impact to include the excluded (primarily to low income) and enable access of financial services. Ato Tiruneh Mitafa, Vice Governor of NBE extended support to all stakeholders and referenced the importance of formal financial institutions deepening the scope to financial services in the upcoming future.
The certificates for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th cohort classes were awarded by Ato Tiruneh Mitafa. The event came to a close with cheers and congratulations that lead to refreshments and an elaborate networking session at the Inclusive guesthouse at AEMFI.