Tunis, Tunisia, August 6, 2012-IFC, a member of the World
Bank Group, is making a local currency loan worth $7 million
to Tunisian microfinance institution Enda Inter-Arabe to help
the organization increase its lending to micro-enterprises,
especially those owned by women, spurring economic
development.
The dinar-denominated loan will contribute to Enda
Inter-Arabe's plans to reach out to 400,000 clients by
end-2015, and to double its current loan portfolio to over
$140 million. IFC will also help build Enda Inter-Arabe's
institutional capacity through a package of advisory services
that include training in corporate governance and in risk
management. Enda Inter-Arabe is presently Tunisia's sole
private microfinance institution and the majority of its
clients are women.
"Our long partnership with IFC has helped us greatly in
financing micro-projects all over the country, 70 percent of
which are owned by low income women," said Essma Ben Hamida,
Enda Inter-Arabe Executive Director and Co-Founder. "Now,
IFC's advisory services package will help us transform from a
non-government organization into a microfinance company,
allowing us to reach even more people."
Since 2007, IFC has worked with Enda Inter-Arabe to provide
small loans to entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises in
Tunisia. Enda has 220,000 clients, up from 63,000 in
2007, and it has 67 branches across Tunisia.
"Micro and small businesses are a key driver of economic
growth and sustainable development," said Antoine
Courcelle-Labrousse, IFC Country Manager in Tunisia. "Our
support to Enda Inter-Arabe will help generate jobs and
provide more economic opportunities for women."
IFC will provide Enda Inter-Arabe, whose portfolio stands at
$80.6 million, with financing over five years. Such long-term
financing has become difficult to mobilize in Tunisia,
especially for NGOs. This investment is part of IFC's efforts
in Tunisia to create jobs, support women in business, help
smaller companies and make the country's economy more
competitive.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global
development institution focused exclusively on the private
sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable
growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in
international financial markets, and providing advisory
services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our
investments reached an all-time high of more than $20
billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create
jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world's most pressing
development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org.
About Enda Inter-Arabe
Enda Inter-Arabe is the first MFI that introduced best
practice microfinance to Tunisia in 1995. Since then it has
disbursed over a million micro loans ($600 millions) reaching
out to 350,000 low income micro-entrepreneurs in urban and
rural Tunisia.
Stay Connected
www.facebook.com/IFCwbg
www.twitter.com/IFC_org
www.youtube.com/IFCvideocasts
www.ifc.org/SocialMediaIndex
Recommend:
