Enat Bank Disburses 1.4 billion Birr in Collateral-Free Loans to Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia

Registering unprecedented early adoption rates in less than a year, Enat Bank S.C. reported disbursing 1.4 billion Birr collateral-free loans to nearly 22,000 women entrepreneurs through its Malefiya digital credit platform. Powered by Qena, an artificial intelligence-backed digital credit score assessing tool by Kifiya Financial Technologies, the platform has received quick reception from women-owned small and medium enterprises.

The Bank, with a name that translates to mother in Amharic, announced the figures at the Hilton Hotel as it received an award from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) for significant advances in bridging gender gaps in the financial sector. Its focus on gender inclusion, exhibited through a 55% female to male composition in the board of directors, also received props from the central bank.

Aster Solomon, Board Chairwoman at Enat Bank, attributed the early success of Malefiya to a general meticulous tendency by mothers in managing their money. She stressed the importance of financial innovation alongside a mass awareness campaign for further gains in financial inclusion.

“There are lots of women in the country who still need similar types of loans,” Aster noted.

Gender disparities in financial access persist across Ethiopia, as depicted in a World Bank report from last year, which showed that men were 1.5 times more likely to get a loan than women.

Martha Hailemariam, advisor at NBE, reinforced the notion by indicating that women had around 150% less access to financial services than men in Ethiopia. She pointed out that Enat Bank managed to secure the central bank’s award by scoring 4.6 out of 5 in its gender scorecard.

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