Job Opportunity: Barriers and Opportunities in Expanding Digital Sharia-Compliant Financial Services in Ethiopia position available at Kifiya Financial Technologies in Addis Ababa. Consultancy and Training jobs in Ethiopia are in high demand. Apply now through GeezJobs - Ethiopia's leading job portal.

 Introduction and Rationale

Kifiya Financial Technology PLC is a company based in Ethiopia with global presence. At Kifiya, we’re transforming financial access in Ethiopia — and beyond. For over a decade, we’ve built AI-powered systems that support smallholder farmers, micro, small, and medium enterprises, and underserved communities. Kifiya builds and enables interconnected technology infrastructures and market solutions that capacitate banks, fintech, and marketplaces to extend financial services. Our technology and system-change solutions address structural barriers and catalyze sector transformation, moving the ecosystem toward sustainable and inclusive finance at scale. Through Al-driven infrastructure and alternative data decisioning, alongside intelligent financial infrastructure, Kifiya removes collateral barriers and delivers un-collateralized credit at scale.

Islamic or Sharia-compliant (Interest-Free) Banking (IFB) is a financial system fundamentally guided by Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia), which prohibits the charging or receiving of interest (riba) and excessive speculation (gharar). Instead, IFB emphasizes ethical, asset-backed, and risk-sharing transactions, primarily utilizing contracts such as profit-and-loss sharing (Mudarabah), cost-plus-profit sale (Murabahah), and mutual insurance (Takaful). This system is inherently tied to real economic activities, making it an ethical alternative to conventional finance.

Globally, IFB is a rapidly expanding sector, with assets exceeding USD 4 trillion. Even in majority-Muslim countries, IFB institutions often operate alongside conventional banks, presenting a mixed financial ecosystem. The key to sustainable growth lies in understanding this co-existence and the distinct consumer needs of the segment.

The Ethiopian Landscape: Ethiopia, with a significant Muslim population (approximately 34% of the total). formally introduced IFB in 2019. This led to the establishment of four full-fledged Islamic banks (ZamZam, Hijra, Rammis, and Shabelle) and numerous IFB windows in conventional institutions. This expansion has significantly contributed to financial inclusion, with interest-free deposit accounts reaching 23.4 million as of mid-2024. 

Despite this quantitative progress, the access to and adoption of diversified and digital Sharia-compliant financial products remains constrained. Ethiopia’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy II (2021–2025) explicitly recognizes the lack of diversified IFB products and insufficient digital infrastructure as critical constraints to serving this segment. 

The Opportunity and the Challenge:This study is driven by the clear opportunity to digitize and scale IFB services to reach Ethiopia's large, underserved market. However, this opportunity is tempered by significant challenges:

• Structural Barriers: These include an evolving and sometimes ambiguous regulatory environment for Interest-Free Banking a lack of standardized Sharia governance mechanisms, and the absence of suitable, Sharia-compliant interbank liquidity instruments necessary for banks to manage their cash reserves efficiently 
• Technological Gaps: There is slow adoption of digital financial services (DFS) by both institutions and consumers, coupled with inadequate core banking and IT infrastructure within some IFB institutions. This is compounded by a lack of Sharia-compliant fintech innovation specifically tailored to the local Ethiopian market. 
• Behavioral Barriers: The digital transformation effort is hindered by low overall digital and financial literacy among the population Furthermore, consumer trust issues persist, stemming from low awareness of specific IFB products and concerns related to the perceived compliance and transparency of digital platforms.

please refer this link for more information: -   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a5joX4DupEGMjoDjXAO_CXREwzlAZwNs/edit#heading=h.kf1dmkoxqhgi

Deliverables

Work Plan and Timeline

The study is planned for a 12-week timeline, ensuring rigorous data collection and analysis.

 Expected Impact

The findings of this study will catalyze both internal innovation and external collaboration:

• For Kifiya: Direct product development by identifying specific unmet needs that can be addressed via Sharia-compliant fintech (e.g., digital Murabahah contracts, savings for specific religious purposes, and digital Zakat/Sadaqa platforms).
• For IFB Institutions: Provide strategic guidance on prioritizing digital investment to scale their reach, particularly in underserved regions.
• For Regulators (NBE): Offer evidence for developing targeted, supportive regulations around digital IFB, Sharia governance of digital products, and promoting competition.
• For Development Partners: Inform future programs aimed at digital financial inclusion and private sector development in Ethiopia.

Evaluation Criteria

• Technical expertise and relevant experience (40%)
• Inclusivity of Team Composition i.e. Representation of women, refugees and displaced persons, and persons with disabilities among the key personnel proposed by the firm (10%)
• Methodology and approach (20%)
• Financial proposal (including personnel, travel, others, taxes, etc.) required to complete study & deliverables (30%)

How To Apply

Firms should submit:

Company profile and other relevant experience. (One page)

Technical proposal outlining methodology and work plan. (Four pages maximum)

CVs of key personnel.

At least two references from similar assignments, with a sample of at least one document.

Renewed Business licence, TIN, and VAT certificates.

Financial proposal (Submit both financial and technical proposal separately)

Firm should follow the below submission instruction:

Deadline: December 30, 2025 at 6:00 PM, East Africa Time (GMT+3)

Format: stamped PDF documents via email

Submitted ONLY to: Procurement@kifiya.com