EU-funded SANAD Technical Assistance Facility helps expand access to finance for Lebanese entrepreneurs

September 11, 2019
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The EU-funded Technical Assistance Facility of the SANAD Fund for MSME (SANAD TAF) has partnered with the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, to assist Lebanese microfinance provider Al Majmoua in transforming from a non-profit NGO into a commercial financial institution, regulated by the Central Bank of Lebanon. This transformation will allow Al Majmoua to continue providing financial services for microentrepreneurs, a key segment of the Lebanese economy supplying employment and growth.

The largest microfinance institution in the country, Al Majmoua provides sustainable financial services to microentrepreneurs in urban and rural areas, serving more than 86,000 microfinance clients through a network of 29 branches.

The technical assistance package is designed to not only help with the transformation of the organizational and operational structure of Al Majmoua, but also to bring the company into a good position to grow sustainably and continue providing crucial financial services to microentrepreneurs across Lebanon.

The SANAD Fund was established in 2011 to foster economic development and create jobs, particularly for youth, in the Middle East and North Africa by providing debt and equity funding to local financial institutions that lend money to support MSMEs and housing development. The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility multiplies the fund’s development impact and outreach through capacity-building at partner institutions, developing financial infrastructures according to the principles of responsible finance and conducting much required R&D. SANAD’s investors include the KfW Development Bank and the European Union.

 

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Press release

SANAD Fund – website

Countries covered:

  • Lebanon