MFI Report

The Lebanese economy continues to withstand not only the harsh repercussions of the 15-year civil war, but also continuous unrest and more recently the global financial crisis. The economy suffered a major contraction in aggregate demand in consumption and investment after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, and has not yet recovered due, in part, to continued political tensions among the local political parties and the war with Israel in 2006. The aggressive reconstruction process after the physical infrastructure destruction and global financial system contraction, have hampered the growth of the real Lebanese economy. Today, the country continues to be in need to develop its institutions across various sectors and platforms. Among the sectors that have developed rather slowly over the past couple of decades is the microfinance industry in Lebanon. The microfinance institutions typically serve the unbanked. The combined outreach of the few active microfinance institutions in the country is approximately less than 30,000 active clients in both rural and urban communities. Thus, the unbanked segment of the Lebanese population continues to be underserved and has a strong unmet potential demand for financial services. Emkan was established as a response to the unmet demand for financial services and limited economic stimulants in local communities. Emkan has been growing steadily since its inception in early 2009 with continued expansion plans over the coming years. Lending operations commenced in July 2009 and the outreach has extended to a few thousand clients. The Emkan team currently comprised of more than 70 members has also been growing. Our partner in the commercial banking sector, BankMed, has been instrumental in supporting the delivery of our financial services to the local communities all over the country. Additionally, Emkan has been making strides in designing and planning the operations of the community development projects in the Akkar region in the North. All these developments would not have been possible if it was not for the dedication of our team and our commitment to quality services to the low income groups in Lebanon. Building a sustainable local institution is the goal we are moving closer to each day and maintaining our high customer satisfaction is what we aim for every day. As the executive director of the organization, it has been a pleasure being one of the founding members of the Emkan team. Working in the microfinance field in Lebanon over the past ten years has allowed me to contribute from my experiences elsewhere in the world and more importantly to learn how to better serve the low income communities and clientele in our country. On behalf of the Emkan team, I would like to emphasis our commitment to quality services as we work towards expanding the realm of financial services in Lebanon and create new opportunities in the rural communities and regional economies all over the country. Cacher