ARABIC PORTAL ON MICROFINANCE

Check out the newly launched Arabic site

Arabic speakers now have a portal for information on microfinance, through the launching of the Arabic Microfinance Gateway.

"This is the first major online resource for microfinance in the Arab world”, said Ahmad Al-Ashmawi, Director of Sanabel, the regional network for Arab microfinance institutions. “More than a hundred specialized microfinance documents have been translated into Arabic for the launch of the site. This initiative represents an important new resource for microfinance in the Middle East.”

The Arabic Gateway is being spearheaded by three microfinance organizations: CGAP; Sanabel; and the Grameen-Abdul Latif Jameel Initiative, partnership between Grameen Foundation USA and the Abdul Latif Jameel Company.

 “With this new access to resources and information, microfinance institutions in the Arab World will be better able to reach more clients and provide a better and wider range of services,” said Alex Counts, president of Grameen Foundation USA. “In addition, potential donors and other interested in microfinance in the region will develop a deeper understanding of the industry.”

“The Arabic Microfinance Gateway will be a one-stop shop for microfinance in the Middle East,” said Xavier Reille, Manager of CGAP’s Middle East and North Africa initiative. “It represents a major opportunity to engage in the Middle East where microfinance is developing fast and where, by following good practice, microfinance could have a real impact on unemployment and on poverty alleviation.”

The Microfinance Gateway is the most comprehensive source of information for and about the microfinance industry. It includes research and publications, discussion groups, specialized resource centers, organization and consultant profiles, and the latest news, events, and job opportunities in microfinance.

Designed to serve the needs of a growing and changing industry, the Gateway also functions as an information exchange platform where practitioners (including microfinance institutions (MFIs), MFI networks, donors, consultants and service providers) can contribute publications, op-ed or thought pieces, news, conference and workshop announcements, and employment vacancies.

Since its launch in June 2000, visits to the Gateway have grown in tandem with the services it offers, with total monthly site visits averaging 18,300 unique users from over 75 countries.

The Gateway is managed by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a consortium of 28 donors who support microfinance, based in Washington, D.C.

Click here to access the Arabic portal.