Microfinance stakeholders celebrate cooperation with focus on inclusion

AMMAN — The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Central Bank of Jordan, the Development and Employment Fund, the Microfinance Association (Tanmeyah), the European Union and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), as well as other financial inclusion affiliates, on Thursday met at the Financial Inclusion for Impact event in Amman, to acknowledge and celebrate their successful cooperation to boost microfinance opportunities and achieve financial inclusion in Jordan.

In early 2011, as part of its efforts to enhance the financial sector’s economic impact, the Government of Jordan launched a participatory sector reform process, which resulted in the Jordanian National Microfinance Policy Framework, according to a statement issued by the European Union.

Thereafter, GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has supported Jordan in strengthening the legal, regulatory and institutional framework of the microfinance sector, the statement said, adding that in 2015, the European Union joined efforts with a 35-million-euro budget support programme to further promote, together with GIZ's technical assistance, the regulation and sound development of the microfinance sector, as well as to assist in the development and implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Nearing the completion of the support programme in its current form, the “Financial Inclusion for Impact: Journey and Vision for Jordan” event provided a unique opportunity to highlight the achievements of the EU and GIZ with Jordanian partners in their journey to make financing more inclusive for everyone in the Kingdom, and to discuss the vision for the future of the sector, the statement said.

The event provided the stage for over 100 public and private stakeholders to exchange personal and joint experiences in promoting microfinance and financial inclusion over the past years in Jordan, according to the statement.

It was opened by high-level representatives, including Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan Maher "Sheikh Hasan", Ambassador of the European Union in Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation of the German Embassy Bernd Kuzmits, according to the statement.

During the event, successful entrepreneurs presented their stories of the impact of microfinance and financial inclusion leaders reflected on the journey to empower the financially underserved and analyse the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation for financial inclusion in Jordan, the statement said.

The event was hosted by the European Union and the GIZ on behalf of the BMZ, the statement concluded.