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Sustainable Finance and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
Understand ESG, trace Ethiopia's climate and social risks to the loan book, screen loans for E&S risk and spot green and inclusive opportunities
A practical introduction to sustainable finance for Ethiopian bank staff, from double materiality and drought risk to exclusion lists, E&S categories, green lending and greenwashing, built around screening ten real-looking loan applications.
Start the course
0 of 5 modules completed
What you will be able to do
- Define sustainable finance, ESG and E&S risk and explain their business case
- Describe Ethiopia's main climate and social exposures and how they reach a bank's balance sheet
- Screen loan applications against an exclusion list and E&S categories and suggest conditions
- Recognize green and inclusive finance opportunities
- Explain board oversight, sustainability reporting and how to avoid greenwashing
- For
- Credit, risk, product and strategy staff in Ethiopian banks and microfinance institutions who are new to sustainable finance. No prerequisites.
- Study time
- About 5 hours online, in 5 modules (16 hours in the classroom version)
- Each module
- Short lessons, animated visuals, Ethiopian examples, decisions to make, the laws and directives that apply and worked calculations, then a quiz
- Assessment
- A 20-question final exam; pass mark 70%
- Certificate
- Erudite Africa Center of Excellence certificate of completion
- Access
- Module 1 free for registered users; the full course, exam and certificate for subscribers
The 5 modules
- Module 01Free previewWhat sustainable finance and ESG meanLearn the language of sustainable finance, ESG, E&S risk, the SDGs and double materiality, and why it makes business sense for an Ethiopian bank.6 lessons · 45 min · quiz
- Module 02Ethiopia's climate and social exposureUnderstand the climate and social risks Ethiopia faces and trace how drought, floods, power cuts and displacement reach a bank's loan book.6 lessons · 55 min · quiz
- Module 03E&S risk in lending: screen, categorize, conditionApply the core E&S steps of a bank's management system to real loan applications: the exclusion list, screening, risk categories and E&S conditions.6 lessons · 65 min · quiz
- Module 04Green and inclusive lending opportunitiesRecognize and size the green and inclusive business Ethiopian banks can grow: off-grid solar, clean cooking, climate-smart agriculture, green buildings, e-mobility and finance for women and youth.6 lessons · 65 min · quiz
- Module 05Governance, reporting and the screening capstoneSee who owns sustainability in a bank, how it is reported without greenwashing, and complete the screening of all ten capstone applications.6 lessons · 60 min · quiz
- Officer simulationA month as ESG analyst at Bank A's sustainable finance unitWork as esg analyst, sustainable finance unit: 11 real-life items, decisions with consequences and a hand-over note. Pass with 70% to qualify for the certificate.
- Final examFinal exam and certificate20 applied questions across all 5 modules. Pass with 70% to download your certificate.
Built on
- Erudite Africa course specification: 4.d Sustainable Finance and ESG, Level 1 Beginner (October 2026)
- Erudite Africa: Ethiopian Context program overview and regulatory register (October 2026)
- NBE directives as listed in the lessons: SBB/90/2024 and SBB/91/2024; Environmental Impact Assessment Proclamation No. 299/2002
- A commercial bank's Revised Credit Procedure Manual (2025), unnamed
- World Bank Group: Ethiopia Country Climate and Development Report (2024) and Making Ethiopia's Financial Sector Work for Women (2024)
- International frameworks: UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking, IFC Performance Standards and exclusion list, ICMA Green Bond Principles, Basel Committee climate risk principles
Examples and organizations are fictional. Apply your own organization's approved policies.