COMESA Business Council, in partnership with the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, launched its digital and financial literacy capacity building initiative in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 25th – 27th April, 2023, themed “Digitalization Toolkits for Greater Financial Inclusion.” Over 50 Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises were equipped with knowledge and skills of both technical and management aspects of running enterprises.

The objective of the initiative, which is a key focus area of the Digital Financial Inclusion Program’s third phase, is to support MSMEs, particularly those that are women-led, in developing an aptitude for digital financial technologies to help drive their increased participation in intra-COMESA trade, which is rapidly evolving due to digitalization.

More trainings are on course to be carried out in upcoming months across the rest of the program’s pilot countries including Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Mauritius and Zambia, complementing other digital economy drivers in the region.