Under the auspices of the Prime Minister, PMA Governor inagurates the 1st Conference of the Microfinance Sector in Palestine – Prospects and Challenges
His Excellency Mr. Azzam Shawwa, the Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, inagurated today in Jericho the first conference of specialized lending in Palestine under the title “Microfinance Sector in Palestine – Prospects and Challenges.”
Mr. Majid Fitiani, the Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, represented Prime Minister Rami Alhamdallah, in the Conference. Mr. Anwar Al-Jayusi, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Palestinian Network for Small and Microfinance (Sharakeh); Mr. Peter Beerwerth, the Head of Germany’s Representative Office in Ramallah; the Consul General of Italy, Fabio Sokolowicz; Cristina Natoli, representative of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Jerusalem; Yusif Habash from the International Finance Corporation; and representative of partner institutions took part in the Conference.
His Excellency Mr. Azzam Shawwa said in the opening remarks that it was his pleasure to see such important conference held. He thanked Sharakeh for organizing the Conference in cooperation with PMA, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, the European Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund, the German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ), and the International Finance Corporation
Mr. Shawwa also said the Conference was important because it discussed stability and development and impact of the specialized lending sector in Palestine within a new regulatory framework; also, supporting the specialized lending institutions and stakeholders to use microfinance as means to end poverty by attracting investors to the sector and linking all specialized lending sector’s institutions to local and international investors.
His Excellency Mr. Azzam Shawwa praised the achievements of the microfinance sector in Palestine. Financial indices reflect the growth and the contributions of this sector in benefiting the national economy and the Palestinian society, according to Mr. Shawwa. The total portfolio of microfinance registered $199,427,453 at the end of 2016. The total assets of the sector registered $216,602,518 and the number of branches and offices of microfinance institutions totaled 82 while the employees and clients registered 618 and 67,822, respectively, according to Mr. Shawwa.
His Excellency the Governor wished the Conference all success and to come out with recommendations and results that would benefit the microfinance sector of Palestine and the national economy as a whole.
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