Ethiopia has initiated a number of financial sector reforms aimed at expanding financial services to the underserved population that has resulted in an increase in the number and type of financial services providers, all of which do not yet have the capacity, distribution and products to meet the real needs of the underserved population.

Therefore, in terms of population coverage and range of financial services, the country’s performance has a long way to go to provide adequate financial access. The Government started to address the access gap in its financial systems with the introduction of various Financial Sector Acts in the past 20 years, and with a bold target in its GTP to increase financial inclusion by 2015 from 15% to 67%.

Over the past 8 years, the number of banked individuals and households has risen from under 1 million to over 20 million (banks 16 million and MFI’s over 4 million), and licensed financial co‐ops have a membership of over 2 million. The Government of Ethiopia is a signatory to the Maya Declaration, per commitments of MOFED and NBE.

The Maya Declaration is a statement of common principles regarding the development of financial inclusion policy focusing on creating the right environment, implementing the correct framework, ensuring consumer protection.