1.0 START UP & ESTABLISHMENTS
The Jordan Micro Credit Company (Tamweelcom) was established in 1999. The company is fully owned by Noor Al-Hussein Foundation (NHF), which operates as and independent entity under the umbrella of the King Hussein Foundation (KHF).
Tamweelcom is registered at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce under No. 5749 dated 20/6/1999 as a limited liability non-profit company. By internal laws, the company is allowed to borrow and receive grants from donor agencies. Yet Tamweelcom is not allowed to distribute dividends to share-holders. Any profit generated is to be recycled into the program to increase the ability to serve more clients.
Tamweelcom's paid up capital is JD 2,500,000 (US$ 3,520,000) fully paid by NHF, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via the AMR Program - Jordan.
2.0 TAMWEELCOM OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
Tamweelcom was basically established to educate clients to differentiate between subsidized lending (and/or charity) and Credit. It was clear that creating a commercial standby institution to run such a program, separately from NHF would serve such a goal. Tamweelcom educates clients on the importance of paying on time, explaining that this is one of the major points the company will rely on, if the loan is to be renewed.
Tamweelcom also aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. Provide credit opportunities to microentrepreneurs to help them enhance their businesses and increase their overall family income.
2. Provide credit to entrepreneurs who do not have access to credit through commercial channels, due to collateral obstacles.
3. Contribute to the national economy by creating more business opportunities and decreasing the unemployment rate (indirect goal).
Furthermore, Tamweelcom introduced a business linkage unit as an effort to serve a wide range of business development services. The new unit is responsible for helping clients to vertically or horizontally integrate to better run their own businesses and reach sources of inputs with a minimum cost.
3.0 TAMWEELCOM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1999: The Jordan Micro Credit Company (Tamweelcom) is established and starts its operation as a non-profit company.
2002: Tamweelcom becomes an active member in the MIX Market transparency website.
2003: Tamweelcom graduates from the whole sale funding funded by USAID, and becomes both financially and operationally sustainable.
2005: Tamweelcom conducts a rating evaluation for the years 2005-2006 for the first time to gauge the overall performance and is rated as B+ with positive trend.
2005: A financial transparency Merit prize is awarded to Tamweelcom.
2006: Tamweelcom becomes the first Arab microfinance institution to be awarded the CGAP Transparency award.
2007: Conducts the second rating by Planet Rating gauging the overall performance and is rated as A- with positive outlook.
2007: Tamweelcom is awarded the (PPIC- Pro-Poor Innovation Challenge) for adhering to best practices and is the first inistitution to win such an award in the region.
2007: Tamweelcom is listed among the 10 best microfinance institutions in the world.
2008: Tamweelcom is selected as 5 Diamond MFI of the month on the MIX Market.
4.0 CAPACITY & AREA COVERAGE
Tamweelcom's start was rather modest, with only five loan officers and a small office at the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation building. Nowadays, Tamweelcom has 130 employees out of which 100 are in the operation department working throughout Tamweelcom’s 13 branches covering the following areas:
1. Hussein branch serves Middle Amman Areas.
2. Hashmi Branch serves north and mid town.
3. Ashrafia Branch serves East and southern parts of Amman.
4. Zarqa Branch serves the governorate of Zarqa.
5. Irbid Branch serves the governorate of Irbid and surrounding cities and villages.
6. Ain Basha Branch serves the surrounding areas of the Baqa'a Refugee Camp, Ein Al-Basha, Swaileh, and Salt governorate.
7. Bayader Branch serves West Amman Areas.
8. Marka Branch servers northern and southern Marka.
9. Rusayfa Branch serves the governorate of Rusayfa.
10. Bni Knanah Branch serves Bni Kananah and some surrounding villages.
11. Al Karak Branch serves the mid-south areas.
12. Madaba Branch serves the southern part of Amman.
13. Al Aqaba Branch serves the southern part of the kingdom.
5.0 CLIENT PROFILE
Tamweelcom, as one of the Microcredit Institutions in Jordan has successfully reached over 53,000 clients with 73,000 different kind of loans, also managed to develop a client profile that can be described as the following:
o 95% of the current portfolio is female clients. Yet Tamweelcom has no gender preferences in disbursing loans.
o Tamweelcom disburses loans to clients between 18 – 60 years old. Yet more emphasis and attention is given to young entrepreneurs between 18 – 30 years old in harmony with government's approach to help young men and women starting and developing their own businesses. To sum up:
35% of Tamweelcom current clients are between 18- 30 years.
34% of Tamweelcom current clients are between 31- 40 years.
22% of Tamweelcom current clients are between 41- 50 years.
8% of Tamweelcom current clients are between 51- 60 years.
o As for education, 97.2% of Tamweelcom’s clients are with high school diplomas and more.
o 92.1% of Tamweelcom loans are disbursed to very poor people, with limited financial resources. Such loans are any amount below JD 700.
o Tamweelcom serves all economic sectors; whether commercial, Service, and industrial. The portfolio is divided respectively to 86%, 4.4% and 9.5%.
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MFI Report
