This report was prepared by an Independent Evaluation Group team led by Patrick Hettinger (senior economist) and Lars Johannes (senior economist) under the guidance of Birgit Hansl (manager) and Theo Thomas (director) and the overall guidance of Sabine Bernabè (Director General, Evaluation).

The evaluation team included Samjhana Thapa (evaluation officer), Sakuntala Akmeemana (consultant), Vandana Chandra (consultant), John Holtzman (consultant), Erick Fernandes (consultant), Disha Zaidi (consultant), Giuseppe Iarossi (senior economist), Gabriela Chamartin (consultant), Chikako Miwa (evaluation analyst), and Mengesha Tadesse (consultant).

The report was peer-reviewed by Hohete Arefeaine (founder, Fintech Association of Ethiopia), Nebil Kellow (managing partner, FirstConsult), Kathie Krumm (Ethiopia country director, International Growth Centre), Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse (senior research fellow and program leader, Ethiopia, International Food Policy Research Institute), and Paul Walters (development director in Ethiopia for the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office).

The team is grateful to Patricia Acevedo, Mary Frances Marley Emery, Etsubdink Mengesha, Esperanza Sadiua, and Bedilish Yosef for their administrative support. Estelle Rosine Raimondo and Virginia Ziulu contributed methodological insights, and Bereket Teferi offered key support with mission data. Lubomir Mitov provided financial sector data. The report was edited by Maximillian Ashwill. The team is thankful to World Bank Group management and staff who provided valuable information and feedback.