Amdework Berhanu

• Linking livestock businesses with private and institutional equity investors; organizing, sponsoring, and attending local and international investment forums. • Preparing livestock businesses for equity investment; o Soft support: Advising them on their investment strategy, registration/licensing details, and building their project profile. o Hands on support: Revising/upgrading their business plan and financials, advising them on structural changes to their financial management and governance systems. • Providing technical assistance to livestock businesses in accessing loans leveraging the USAID/DCA loan guarantee fund • Facilitating access to credit for livestock businesses receiving innovative grants for the project (leveraging loans from banks with grant investments by the project) • Assisting financial institutions in developing appropriate financial saving and loan products for livestock businesses Achievement: Assisted 17 livestock businesses in Ethiopia to access over $8 million USD in loans from commercial banks in Ethiopia.

• Support the execution of pre-pilot tests of the electronic Productive Safety Net Program payment technology (for Branchless Banking) under the Financial Inclusion Project • Providing support in proposal development and contracting of implementing institutions (Technology Service Provider & Financial Institutions) • Providing support and oversight to implementing financial institutions and technology service provider • Assist in troubleshooting client enrollment, data transfer, and service delivery • Provide technical assistance and capacity building to implementing partners on demand basis Major Achievement: Successfully supported the enrollment of about 6000 poor households into the electronic platform created by Kifiya Financial Technologies and ACSI.

• Overall planning and implementation of technical assistance (TA) activities tied to a guarantee fund arrangement created by KfW, to enable microfinance institutions access commercial loans from banks • Assessing TA needs of partner MFIs and Banks • Preparing and reviewing TA content • Delivering TA to partner MFIs and Banks in the form of training, research and consultancy • Mobilizing technical assistance team and resources as required for individual TA assignments

• Team leader for a mid-term review of a honey value chain development initiative in Ethiopia. • Provided training and coaching on basic business skills and financial management to actors in the honey value chain (input suppliers, producers, and processors). • Developed appropriate value chain financing models and linkage mechanisms for actors in the honey value chain. Major Achievements: Completed mid-term evaluation of the honey VC development initiative. Developed proposals and concept notes for new financial service models and products.

• Conducted a comprehensive training needs assessment of the microfinance industry in Ethiopia, which led to the development of a curriculum comprising 22 courses. • Jointly developed training manuals for three of the aforementioned courses (Financial Products Development, Accounting, and Business Process Management). • Organized numerous trainings and workshops. • Jointly participated in market research and financial products development

• Front-line customer handling • Internal bank branch level accounting & auditing