Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium - Dubai, November 30, 2008
As global capital markets remain volatile, the time is right to consider alternative investment options like microfinance, which is countercyclical to the macroeconomic environment. On November 30, 2008, Grameen-Jameel, a social business based in Dubai, and BlueOrchard, a microfinance investment manager based in Geneva, hosted the Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium, Dubai’s first forum to bring investors and microfinance institutions together. The Symposium was aimed at local asset managers, high net worth individuals, family offices, social investors and bankers seeking to learn more about microfinance as an asset class as well as existing investment opportunities in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.
Over the next three years, leading microfinance institutions (MFIs) from Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia need $500 million in financing. Ten investment-ready MFIs from these countries and Pakistan will be showcased at the Symposium, including pitch books prepared in advance and the opportunity for one-on-one investor meetings with the MFIs.
Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings and other financial services to the poor. People living in poverty need a diverse range of financial instruments to run their businesses, build assets, stabilize consumption, and shield themselves against risks. MFIs have successfully provided these financial services to the poor, predominately in the form of working capital loans for low-income businesses.
Today, there are over 100 MFIs in the Arab region providing financial services to approximately 3.5 million Arab micro-entrepreneurs. Over the past five years, these MFIs have achieved exponential growth and strong performance. Together, MFIs from Morocco to Yemen, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia have an outstanding loan portfolio of US$1.5 billion (as of year-end 2007). As regulatory frameworks change to allow for non-banking financial institutions and commercially licensed companies, the window for investment is opening.
If you are interested in learning more about the investment opportunities in microfinance in the Arab region, please contact Grameen Jameel, Dubai, UAE, by e-mail at info@grameen-jameel.com and by phone at +971 4 430 9120, or BlueOrchard, Geneva, Switzerland, by e-mail at info@blueorchard.com and by phone at +41 22 596 47 77.