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Visa moves to drive up financial inclusion in Ethiopia
CNBC Africa spoke with Mamadou Biteye, Vice President, Social Impact, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at VISA on their partnership with STEMPower to drive up driving financial inclusion and job creation in Ethiopia.
Fri, 06 Nov 2020 14:02:33 GMT
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AI Generated Summary
- The partnership between Visa and STEM Power aims to provide aspiring tech innovators and entrepreneurs in Ethiopia with essential business skills and support to drive financial inclusion and job creation.
- The program will focus on reforming STEM Power's curricula to include money management and practical business skills, with the long-term goal of integrating these lessons into the educational system.
- Empowering young entrepreneurs with digitization and financial inclusion skills is expected to boost economic growth, create opportunities for SME financing, and drive positive change in Ethiopia.
Visa, a leading digital payments company, has recently announced a strategic partnership with STEM Power, a pioneer in STEM education and innovation, acceleration in Ethiopia. The aim of this three-year partnership is to drive financial education and job creation for aspiring tech innovators and entrepreneurs in the country. Mamadou Biteye, Vice President of Social Impact, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Visa, highlighted the importance of supporting young entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, where two million young people enter the job market each year. With a low level of financial inclusion in the country, many young people struggle to find employment opportunities. The partnership with STEM Power aims to bridge this gap by providing aspiring entrepreneurs with the necessary business skills and support to succeed in the tech industry.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC Africa, Mamadou Biteye explained that the first phase of the program will focus on reforming STEM Power's current curricula to include essential money management and business skills. By equipping young entrepreneurs with these skills, Visa hopes to increase their chances of success and empower them to create and grow their own businesses. Looking ahead, the long-term vision of the partnership is to integrate these lessons into the educational system and support more young people in Ethiopia.
One of the key objectives of the partnership is to drive digitization among young entrepreneurs, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By going digital, these entrepreneurs can expand their businesses, access new markets, and improve their visibility to financial service providers. This, in turn, opens up opportunities for SME financing and economic growth in the country. Mamadou emphasized the importance of digitization in enabling young entrepreneurs to thrive and contribute to the economy.
When asked about the regulatory environment in Ethiopia, Mamadou noted the government's efforts to open up the market and encourage private sector investment. He expressed optimism about the opportunities for collaboration between Visa, the Ethiopian government, and other development partners to drive positive change in the country. By leveraging Visa's expertise in digital payments and connectivity, the partnership with STEM Power aims to support Ethiopia's goals for financial inclusion and job creation. Mamadou highlighted the potential impact of empowering young entrepreneurs with financial inclusion skills and emphasized the importance of collaboration with government authorities and development partners to maximize the benefits for the population at large.
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