Ramallah- “Jerusalem” dot com- Bank of Palestine and Proparco, the investment arm of the French Development Agency (AFD), with funding from the European Union, signed a renewal agreement to support and finance small and medium enterprises, through the ARIZ MENA portfolio, at a value of $9.2 million.

The agreement was signed on Monday, 01/30/2023, at the headquarters of the General Administration in Ramallah, in the presence of His Excellency the Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, Dr. Firas Melhem, Mr. Hashim Shawa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of Palestine Group, Ms. Françoise Lemopard, CEO of Proparco, and Mrs. Sarah Morsi, Regional Director for the Middle East at Proparco, Mr. Sven Kon von Burgsdorff, Representative of the European Union to Palestine, Mr. Mahmoud Shawa, General Manager of Bank of Palestine, and a number of officials and managers from both parties.

This support is the fifth that the AFD Group provides through Probaco within this project to Bank of Palestine and in cooperation with the European Union, which provides financial facilities in the Middle East and North Africa region. By targeting marginalized sectors such as: small, micro, medium, and green projects, and startups under 3 years of age, and leading to support for projects of business owners and youth, which target the sectors of agriculture, health, education, tourism, and digital sectors, to contribute to achieving inclusion. financial, especially since many of these companies were affected and faced great challenges in obtaining financing and loans, after the end of the Corona pandemic period.

Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco, said: “Proparco is pleased to continue its successful cooperation with Bank of Palestine, through this project, which will contribute to supporting the Palestinian private sector, in key sectors that have a significant impact on local development.”

In turn, Sven Kon von Burgsdorff, the representative of the European Union to Palestine, expressed his happiness at renewing the signing of this agreement, saying, "We are pleased in the European Union to contribute to supporting and financing this important investment with our partners, Proparco and Bank of Palestine, through our guarantees, to assist small and medium-sized companies in their commercial undertakings, and to absorb High risks when needed, and unleashing investment, which contributes to promoting development and creating job opportunities.Burgsdorf added that investments of this kind show our commitment to supporting sustainable economic development in Palestine, and establishing a strong and independent economy that can serve as the backbone of the future Palestinian state.

In this context, Hashim Shawa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of Palestine Group, expressed his pride in the strategic partnership with Proparco and the European Union as main partners and investors in the Bank for many years, which contributes to supporting sustainable economic development, adding that together we were able to contribute to creating a positive impact on our society. And our economy, in terms of SME lending, including green finance, with a real focus on sustainability and financial inclusion.

In turn, Mahmoud Shawa, General Manager of Bank of Palestine, appreciated the efforts of the AFD Group and the European Union for their continuous support to the Palestinian private sector, due to their pioneering role in supporting economic and social development, indicating that we are looking forward to more cooperation with the European Union, the French Development Agency, and Proparco in the field of financial intermediation. .

Funded by the European Union, the AFD Group launched this project, which targets countries in the Middle East and North Africa to support financial inclusion and finance small and medium-sized companies in seven Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia, with the aim of providing financing solutions in local currency, performance incentives, and assistance Technical, to facilitate and provide credit to companies with high development impact.

It is noteworthy that Proparco, in cooperation with the European Union, signed an agreement with Bank of Palestine in January 2022, at a value of $30 million, to provide green loans, within the SUNREF II green financing program.

Palestine bank:

Bank of Palestine is the largest financial institution in Palestine, seeking to raise the level of banking services in Palestine, and develop them, in line with the development witnessed by the banking sector in the world, to meet all the financial needs of the various Palestinian segments and sectors. Bank of Palestine plays a major role in supporting the Palestinian economy, including small and medium-sized companies within the framework of its strategy, contributing to the promotion of green financing, investing in technology and digitization, in addition to allocating programs and services that target owners of small, medium and micro enterprises, in addition to services directed to individuals. Low-income people, workers, beneficiaries of aid programs and other segments as part of its comprehensive strategy for sustainability.

Proparco Corporation:

It is the private sector financing arm of the AFD Group, which has been promoting sustainable economic, social and environmental development for more than 40 years, providing financing and support to both corporate and financial institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, to enable key development sectors: infrastructure, especially in energy renewables, agribusiness, financial institutions, health and education.

The European Union's external investment plan in the Middle East and North Africa:

The EU's ambitious foreign investment plan is designed to encourage investment in its partner countries. In order to help better identify, prioritize, coordinate and promote the investment opportunities offered by the plan through its many instruments in Palestine, the EU and the Palestinian Authority have set up a dedicated EU-Palestinian investment platform, promoting mutual dialogues and policies.

The plan aims to encourage a selected number of financial institutions to increase their lending activity to small and medium enterprises in order to reduce their exposure to risks. The guarantee facility in the Middle East and North Africa region consists of preparing a set of financial instruments consisting of risk-sharing facilities, by providing lines of credit, and providing technical assistance to increase the portfolios of financial institutions for small and medium enterprises.