MICROCAPITAL STORY: Citi Foundation and Jordan River Foundation Present 2008 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards, Jordanian Government Pledges $7.1m to Local Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

On November 16, the Citi Foundation, a philanthropic foundation dedicated to economic development, and the Jordan River Foundation (JRF), a Jordanian non-profit organization (NGO) focused on female entrepreneurship, held the 2008 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards ceremony for Jordan.? The two groups and the Jordanian government highlighted the active role that micro-credit plays in alleviating local poverty and honored individual micro-entrepreneurs, including ten women. ? The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) also announced new funding initiatives for the microfinance sector.

Twenty-four grants were awarded to new and existing projects in various sectors, including tourism, services, trade, agriculture, industry and handicrafts.? These 24 winners came from several governorates, including Amman, Jerash, Zarqa, Irbid, Mafraq, Balqa, Maan, Tafileh, Karak, and Aqaba.? They represented several microfinance institutions (MFIs): Tamweelkom, the National Micro Finance Institution, the Middle East for MicroFinance, the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development, the Ministry of Social Development, the Agricultural Credit Corporation, the Development and Employment Fund, Al Ahliyya for Micro Finance Development and Financing, UNRWA and FINCA.? In total, the winning projects are valued at JOD 644,000 (USD 914,370) and provide JD 19,000 (USD 26,977) in monthly income.?

At the awards ceremony, MoPIC Minister Suhair Al-Ali announced that her ministry is coordinating with international donors to give MFIs technical and financial support that will facilitate scaling-up activities, expansion into poor areas, and financial product diversification.? French and Spanish organizations have contributed to MFIs about EUR 12 million (USD 15 million) this year alone.? The government pledged further support of the microfinance sector with a JOD 5 million (USD 7.1 million) grant channeled through MoPIC to the Development and Employment Fund, which will in turn provide funds to help sustainable MFIs with rural expansion and other ongoing projects.? For more information on the Jordanian government’s microfinance promotion efforts, please see a recent Microcapital story on the development of a code of ethics for domestic MFIs.

The Citi Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Citigroup, a public financial services company founded in 1812 and based in New York City.? Citigroup provides numerous types of services, including consumer, corporate, and investment banking; private equity and global wealth management; and investment research.? The Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards were instituted in 2005 and last year received USD 1.3 million in funding for the support of microfinance across 26 countries.? Individual countries coordinated with the Foundation to nominate and honor 400 microentrepreneurs throughout the world in 2007.

The Jordan River Foundation (JRF), also known as Jordan River Designs, is a non-profit organization (NGO) founded in Amman, Jordan for the purpose of expanding handicraft production and general micro-entrepreneurship among low-income women. ? Queen Rania of Jordan, who continues to serve as Chair of its Board of Directors, founded the organization in December of 1995.? The organization receives funding from MoPIC, the Ministry of Social Development, the British Council, Citigroup, AGFUND, the European Union, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank, USAID, and the Global Environment Fund (GEF).? In 2006, most recent year for which financial data is publicly available, the organization controlled USD 5.1 million in assets and made five grants.

Additional Resources:

The Citi Foundation:? Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards

Global Custodian: “Citi and Jordan river Foundation Support Women Microentrepreneurs in Aqaba”

Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation

Jordan River Foundation

The Jordan Times: “MoPIC coordinating with donors to support microfinance institutions”

Microcapital Story: “Code of Ethics Signed at Jordanian Government Ceremony by Local MFIs Microfund for Women, Alwatani, Al-Ahli Microfinance Company, Tamweelcom, Middle East Microcredit Company (MEMCO), FINCA-Jordan, and the Development and Employment Fund (DEF)“