Sanad Partners with Vitas Group to Improve Small Enterprise Lending Practices

Sanad Partners with Vitas Group to Improve Small Enterprise Lending Practices
Washington, DC – The SANAD Fund for MSME Technical Assistance Facility (SANAD TAF) and Vitas Group (Vitas) have commenced a technical assistance (TA) project that will help Vitas develop a new policy framework for small enterprise loans  that will ensure responsible, transparent financing for the small enterprise segment.
The project aims to harmonize all policies related to small enterprise lending (loans up to USD 70,000) across the Vitas network in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Romania, and align them with Vitas’ standards and industry best practices. The project will be implemented by a team of MSME experts over one year and will encompass a thorough review and onsite assessment, resulting in a customized set of policies, tools and trainings, and follow-up advisory services. The grant is SANAD TAF’s second TA project on the Vitas Group level, following individual capacity building projects and investments in Vitas subsidiaries in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.
Elissa Laborde, CEO of Vitas Group, said the support from SANAD is exciting for Vitas. “Small enterprises are the engines of growing economies, and have always been a core focus of ours. With this new TA support from SANAD we will get the kind of policies we need to have in place to ensure that we are serving this important segment in the most straightforward, responsible manner possible,” she said.
Wolfgang Reuss, Chairman of SANAD’s Board of Directors, said he is happy to see SANAD TA funds supporting such an important financial sector.  
“Responsible financial inclusion is a hallmark of what SANAD is all about; we are thoroughly committed to supporting institutions like Vitas Group that are furthering this cause in the Middle East,” he said. “This specific project is one close to our hearts, because the small enterprise sector is such an important segment of growing Middle Eastern economies.”
About the SANAD Fund for MSME and Technical Assistance FacilityThe SANAD Fund for MSME (SANAD) was established and initially funded by KfW Development Bank in 2011 with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union, and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). SANAD provides medium- and long-term debt and equity financing to partner institutions in the Middle-East and North Africa to strengthen the local micro, small and medium enterprise sector as well as the financial infrastructure in line with the principles of Responsible Finance. SANAD currently works with partner institutions in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia and Yemen. As a means to maximize SANAD’s development impact and outreach, the SANAD Technical Assistance Facility provides capacity-building support to partner institutions. SANAD, a public-private partnership, is privately managed by a consortium consisting of Finance in Motion GmbH, Frankfurt/Main and Oppenheim Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Luxembourg.
For more information, please visit: www.sanad.lu.
About Vitas GroupVitas is a commercial holding company created and owned by Global Communities as a long-term vehicle for fulfilling Global Communities’ mission in micro-, small- and medium-enterprise finance. Vitas Group prides itself on a community-driven approach to lending, and building lasting partnerships in the place where we work. Vitas is 21 percent owned by Bamboo Finance, and currently operates subsidiaries in Lebanon, Romania, Jordan, and Palestine, and shares its brand with the Global Communities institution in Iraq. For more information, please visit: www.vitasgroup.com.