IFAD allocates $ 1 mln to support Al-Amal Microfinance Bank`s capital

SANA'A, June
29 (Saba) - The International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) has
allocated
USD 1 million to support the Al-Amal Microfinance Bank's capital, and USD 7 million
to boost the bank's lending capacity and spreading in the rural areas.
This came during a meeting gathered the director of the bank Mohamed al-Lai and the
IFAD's mission headed by the Fund's Vice-President Yukiko Omura.
Omura voiced the Fund's readiness to offer the technical support to enhance the
bank's capacity to spread in the different provinces of the country, praising the
steps and
activities made by the bank in spite of the short period, which did not exceed a
year and a half.
She stressed the importance of partnership between the Fund and the bank to enable
the Fund to reach the poor people in rural areas to provide loans to small farmers,
fishermen
and other groups with low incomes and further loans to finance small projects in
those areas.
Referring to the bank's achievements over the last period, al-Lai pointed out that
the number of the bank's customers reached 20 thousand clients by the end of this
June
between savers and borrowers by a financing amount of YR 380 million, women occupied
59 percent of the total customers.
He said that the bank operates through ten branches in the provinces, adding that
the bank seeks to broaden the base of its branches for up to 18 branches by the end
of
this year and 40 branches by 2013.
The meeting was attended by the IFAD's Director of Near East and North Africa Nadim
Khouri.
BA