Driving inclusive growth in Ethiopia through MSC’s support to the regional implementation of NFIS-II

• Sep 8, 2025
• 2 min

To accelerate inclusive economic growth and strengthen the financial ecosystem, Ethiopia launched its revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS-II) for the period 2021–2025. With an ambitious goal of increasing formal financial account ownership from 45% in 2020 to 70% by 2025, the strategy emphasizes expanding access, usage, and the quality of financial services across the country. Given Ethiopia’s geographic and socioeconomic diversity, a strong regional implementation approach was essential to ensure that the strategy translates into inclusive outcomes on the ground.

MSC was engaged by FSD Ethiopia to provide technical assistance to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) in operationalizing the revised strategy. MSC supported the development of a regional implementation framework that aligns national NFIS-II goals with local contexts and capabilities. This work involved the identification of regional disparities, tailoring interventions to local realities, and strengthening coordination mechanisms to enable more effective delivery of financial inclusion programs. MSC’s support was critical in translating high-level national targets into actionable plans at the regional level.

With this contribution, the National Bank of Ethiopia is now better equipped to drive localized implementation of NFIS-II. The strategy is underpinned by initiatives that promote data-driven decision-making, strengthen financial literacy, and improve consumer protection. These efforts are helping to scale financial inclusion across the country, particularly among underserved communities. MSC’s work has played a key role to ensure that Ethiopia’s financial inclusion strategy is not only ambitious but also achievable, measurable, and responsive to the needs of all its people.

This project was commissioned by FSD Ethiopia.