Grameen-Jameel, a social business that serves the Arab microfinance industry,
will co-host the region’s first Arab Microfinance Investment Symposium along with Geneva-based microfinance investment manager BlueOrchard in Dubai.

The one-day symposium is Scheduled to take place on November 30 at the Emirates Towers Hotel.

The symposium for the first time will bring together investors and microfinance institutions (MFIs) from the region thus demonstrating the growing importance of microfinance in the Arab World and its emergence as an attractive asset class.

Across the world, the $300 billion microfinance industry achieves average annual growth rates of 40 per cent and investment returns of 25 per cent, said an expert.

Delivering a keynote speech entitled “Microfinance Market and Trends in the Arab World,” Heather Henyon, general manager, Grameen-Jameel, said Microfinance was known to be countercyclical to the macroeconomic environment.

'As governments across the Arab region begin to create microfinance-friendly regulatory environments, the window for investment is opening,' she noted.

It is a platform for MFIs and investors to share ideas and explore opportunities in the Arab World and Pakistan.

The Keynote speakers and panellists include Fadi Ghandour, founder and CEO of Aramex and chairman of one of the leading MFIs in Jordan, National Microfinance Bank; Fadi Abdul Latif Jameel, board director of Grameen-Jameel; Jack Lowe, president of BlueOrchard Finance; Prashant Thakkar, microfinance business head of Standard Chartered Bank; Royston Braganza, CEO of Grameen Capital India and Deepak Khanna, senior program manager of International Finance Corporation.

Ten microfinance institutions are being showcased as investment opportunities and are seeking $500 million in debt and equity financing over the next three years.

The MFI panel discussion will feature Ziad Al Refai, CEO of Tamweelcom in Jordan; Hassan Faried, executive director of DBACD in Egypt; Essma Ben Hamida, executive director of enda inter-arabe in Tunisia; and Roshaneh Zafar, president of Kashf Foundation in Pakistan.

The goal is to demonstrate how microfinance is not just a safe investment vehicle that could be part of a diversified portfolio but also an asset class that is socially responsible.

“Times are tough for almost everyone right now and in the near future. Solidarity with those living in poverty will require a strong commitment and much courage,” said Jean-Pierre Klumpp, CEO of BlueOrchard Finance SA.

“There are still huge possibilities in the Arab world to support microentrepreneurship as only an estimated 10 per cent of the needs for financial services for the poor are presently met,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service