The governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan recently signed an agreement through UAE’s Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Jordan’s Crown Prince Foundation, whereby UAE will provide USD 100 million for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan with the goal of supporting a “stable and balanced economy.” Forty-seven percent of the funding is targeted to support women’s enterprises, and 40 percent of the total is earmarked for rural areas. The money is expected to be deployed to 22,000 firms, creating 28,000 jobs over the course of five years. The parties have not disclosed whether intermediaries such as banks and microfinance institutions will participate in implementing the program.
By Michelle Fleming, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
UAE government press release
https://www.mofa.gov.ae/EN/MediaCenter/News/Pages/21-11-2018-UAE—agreement.aspx
Gulf Business article
https://gulfbusiness.com/uae-jordan-sign-100m-agreement-fund-smes-kingdom/
MIX data on microlending in Jordan
https://www.themix.org/mixmarket/countries-regions/jordan
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