The government of Canada recently announced it will fund four projects under its program titled Women and Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship and Employment in the West Bank & Gaza. More specifically, Global Affairs Canada, the government’s international development and diplomatic relations department,
Category: Middle East
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: IFC, Sanabel: Transforming Microfinance Institutions in the Arab World; by Alex Silva, Mohammed Khaled, Karen Beshay
This is a summary of a paper by Alex Silva, Mohammed Khaled and Karen Beshay; published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC); May 2018; 40 pages; available at:
https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/1ffc3ec0-63ac-4426-863c-c7d1b8b0df46/ESOP-Transforming+22-5-2018.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
In March 2017, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a unit of the World Bank Group, and Sanabel, a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Arab region, conducted a survey of 20 MFIs
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Donating $13m to Support Angel Investors, Networking for Startups in Gaza, West Bank
The US-based World Bank recently announced it will disburse grant funds totaling USD 13 million over seven years to launch the “Innovative Private Sector Development Project,” which is designed to improve networking and financing opportunities for firms operating in the Palestinian Territories.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group’s IBRD Lending $400m to Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB) for SMEs, “Women-inclusive” Enterprises, Businesses Serving Syrian Refugees
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), a unit of the US-based World Bank, recently approved a 29-year loan of USD 400 million to the Inclusive Access to Finance Project, an initiative sponsored by the Turkish government that is designed
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Sanabel Annual Conference: “From Sustainable to Responsible; Our Vision Forward”; November 6 – 7, 2018; Amman, Jordan
Event Summary: Attendees at this event will explore the needs of clients of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Arab region, including how MFIs can ensure their transactions are responsible while they expand product and service offerings to current and new clients. While the 2018 agenda has not yet been released,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD to Guarantee $20m in Lending by Bank al Etihad to Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan
Bank al Etihad, whose shares are traded on the Amman Stock Exchange, recently secured an agreement from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to share risk on USD 20 million in lending by Bank al Etihad to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan. The borrowers – most of which are expected to be medium-sized firms – will be able to access
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: KKR Planning $1b Global Impact Fund to Invest in Green Energy, Education, Environmental Firms
KKR, a private equity firm that manages USD 168 billion as of 2017, reportedly is looking to raise USD 1 billion for a Global Impact Fund that would invest in medium-sized enterprises involved in fields such as education, renewable energy and other environmental issues. The fund’s goals would be to earn market returns while supporting work toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. One source indicates the managers would disburse roughly 10 investments of USD 50 million and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Calvert Impact Loans $5m to Global Communities’ Vitas Palestine, Ryada for Housing Microfinance, Mortgages in West Bank, Gaza
Calvert Impact Capital, a US-based NGO that raises money for organizations with “a social and/or environmental focus,” recently disbursed a three-year loan to Global Communities, a US-based NGO that provides financial, health, urban-management and other services in 43 countries. Global Communities will use the funds to support housing lending in the West Bank and Gaza via its for-profit holding company, the Vitas Group.
Calvert Investments Director Songbae Lee said, “This investment is interesting to us because it expands our traditional microfinance investing with a focus on
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mowgli Mentoring to Engage Syrian Refugees in Jordan with Support from OeEB via Sanad
UK-based NGO Mowgli Mentoring recently secured funding from the Sanad Technical Assistance Facility, which is affiliated with the Luxembourg-domiciled Sanad Fund for MSME (Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise), to engage 15 Jordanian businesspeople in mentoring a like number of Syrian refugees looking to make their Amman-based businesses
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Iraq’s Ashur International Bank, Al-Amwal Company Building Digital Banking System with Support from IFC
Ashur International Bank, which serves personal and corporate clients in Iraq, and Al-Amwal Company, a payments company in Iraq, are collaborating with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to offer digital banking services.
Nour Al-Handal, the Assistant Managing Director of Ashur, stated “Our partnership with IFC will help us to build the needed foundation to effectively and efficiently expand our outreach to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Green for Growth Fund Nets $19m in Equity from BMZ to Boost Funding of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Projects via Microfinance Institutions, Banks
The Green for Growth Fund (GGF), which invests in reductions in pollution and energy usage in Eurasia and North Africa, recently accepted an investment of EUR 15 million (USD 19 million) from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is also known by its German acronym BMZ, to boost the fund’s investment in
MICROFINANCE PAPER ROUND-UP: Achieving SDGs by Supporting SMEs, Engaging Youth in Financial Services via Social Media, Effects of Financial Education on Credit Card Usage
“SMEs and SDGs: Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” by Maria Teresa Zappia and Lisa Sherk, published by BlueOrchard, November 2017, 28 pages, available at http://www.blueorchard.com/smes-sdgs-supporting-small-medium-enterprises-achieve-sustainable-development-goals-insights-blueorchard-survey/
In this report, the authors explore how improving the business climate for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), may help achieve many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 guiding principles intended to help combat poverty, protect the environment, and encourage economic and political stability.
Ms Zappia and Ms Sherk surveyed financial institutions that lend to SMEs in the Caucasus, Central and South America, East Asia and
MICROFINANCE PAPER ROUND-UP: Index of Women Entrepreneurs; Investing in Affordable Housing; Comparing Impact, Traditional Investment Returns
“Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2017,” published by Mastercard, March 2017, 31 pages, available at https://newsroom.mastercard.com/eu/files/2017/03/Report-Mastercard-Index-of-Women-Entrepreneurs-2017-Mar-3.pdf
This tool is intended to measure the evolution of women’s participation in business around the world. The authors apply a set of 37 indicators to data from 54 economies to explore the variations in: (1) women’s advancement; (2) knowledge assets and financial access; and (3) supporting entrepreneurial conditions. One of the primary women’s-advancement indicators is the percentage of CEOs and managers that are women in a given country. Six of the top 10 performers are upper-middle-income countries, with Canada and New Zealand being the only
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Netherlands’ FMO Arranges $68m Syndicated Loan for Lebanon’s LGB Bank, with Participation from OFID, OeEB
The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently arranged a syndicated loan in the amount of USD 67.5 million for the Beirut-based Lebanon and Gulf Bank (LGB Bank) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon. The
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanadcom Launches to Serve SMEs in Jordan, Backed by Microfund for Women, GMS Ventures and Investments
Sanadcom for Business Finance, a lender to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan, recently launched with two “anchor” investors: Microfund for Women, a Jordanian microfinance institution, and GMS Ventures and Investments, a subsidiary of Jordan’s GMS Holdings. Sanadcom has enjoyed “additional equity funding and support” from the Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises), a European investor in North Africa and the Middle East, and
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fransabank Borrows $20m from Sanad for Rural SMEs, Poor Households in Lebanon
Fransabank SAL, a Beirut-based commercial bank with 124 branches in nine countries, recently received a loan of USD 20 million from the Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises), a European investor in North Africa and the Middle East. Fransabank plans to use the funds to
SPECIAL REPORT: Clients Come Clean on Sneaking Contraception, Practitioners Move from Serving Women to Empowering Households as European Microfinance Week Closes
During the closing day of European Microfinance Week
, Imran Matin of the US-based nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) stressed the importance of not just whether women will use financial services, but “what account ownership will translate into in terms of achievement.” Foreshadowing a theme of the session, he added that “intra-household dynamics is very important and also particularly difficult to measure.”
Bdour Al-Hyari of Jordan’s Microfund for Women (MFW) described a long-running insurance product offered by her microfinance institution (MFI). The coverage provides cash to clients who are hospitalized or have a family member who is. While health issues were a major cause of default in the past, women who got “hospital cash” from MFW reportedly repaid their loans at a rate of
MICROFINANCE EVENT: $165k Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge and Awards Gala Dinner; November 15, 2017; Dubai, UAE
Event Name: Ethical Finance Innovation Challenge and Awards Gala Dinner
Event Date: November 15, 2017
Event Location: The Ritz Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre, United Arab Emirates
Summary of Event: This is the fifth rendition of a group of awards given by Thomson Reuters, a media firm traded on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank,