1 Supporting microfinance in the MENA region European Microfinance Week Francesco Consiglio, EIB Luciana Tomozei, EIB

2 EIB Microfinance Support: Objectives for the MENA region Support the development of private and financial sector Small operations with high value added, leading to well governed MFIs Integration of MFIs with local financial market Variety of instruments offered, including capacity building

3 EIB’s activity in the region Active operations, EUR 27m: NameCountryCommitment Disbursed amount Al Majmoua microfinanceLiban1.5 M €0.8 M € DBACDEgypte2.0 M € First MicroFinance SyriaSyrie2.0 M € ENDATunisie2.0 M € ENDA (Appui secteur privé)Tunisie0.8 M € Association Micro Crédit I – AMSSFMaroc0.5 M € Association Micro Crédit I - Al AmanaMaroc5.2 M € Association Micro Crédit II - Al AmanaMaroc5.0 M € Association Micro Crédit II –FONDEPMaroc3.3 M €

4 Regional context update (I) Situation in the MENA region: Not enough or too much funding? Penetration rate in the region is still low Most funds concentrate on a few stronger MFIs Appetite for equity investments but opportunities are scarce Capacity Building issue, especially for smaller MFIs (governance, staff, transparency, internal organisation) Legislation issues

5 Regional context update (II) Impact of the revolutions in the Arab region: Revolution in Tunisia, then in Egypt and finally in Libya was a surprise and brought unexpected problems; New risks (e.g. for Tunisia: reputational, perceived link with Government, insecurity, economic crisis, PAR levels, refugees from Libya …); Actions taken by MFIs (portfolio monitoring, rescheduling of loans, contact with clients); Lessons learnt by MFIs: risk management, governance, staff satisfaction, new opportunities.

6 MicroMED Timely and targeted response to microfinance needs in the region Aims at contributing to financial inclusion EC actions: Regulatory support Knowledge sharing Microfinance needs: Technical assistance, capacity building Funding, etc. EIB and bilateral support: Expertise (targeted TA, capacity building) Funding

MicroMED - TUNISIA MicroMED - TUNISIA EIB and Gov. of Luxembourg envisage joint actions TA: Immediate support for microfinance regulatory change in Tunisia at the request of the MoF Capacity building modules for MFIs Rating activities: rating co-financing Develop pilot projects (e.g. micro-credit, micro-insurance, mobile finance) Aim: to replication of these tools to other countries in the region MicroMED Tunisia I - Targeted TA Credit Bureau Role of the Post Mobile finance Micro-savings II - Capacity building Risk management, Performance indicators, Train the trainers, Rating activities

8 Thank you!