The Role of Microfinance and Financial Services in Building Resilience, 18th Microcredit Summit, Abu Dhabi UAE, March 14-17, 2016

1. The Role of Microfinance and Financial
Services in Building Resilience
Frontier Innovation in Financial Inclusion
18th
Microcredit Summit

2. Mission
Improve the quality of life for small business owners,
microentrepreneurs, and poor households through the
provision of credit, aiming at sustaining jobs,
decreasing unemployment, reducing poverty, economic
empowerment of women, youth and the aged, and the
provision of income generating and asset building
opportunities for Palestine refugees and other poor
and marginal groups

3. Facts & Figures as of 31 December 2015
Indicator West Bank Gaza Jordan Syria Total
Number of Branch Offices 8 3 7 4 22
Number of Staff 147 62 136 57 402
Cumulative Number of
Loans
113,176 112,267 81,337 91,369 398,149
Cumulative Value of
Loans($)
158,769,722 145,015,460 97,412,434 52,724,730 453,922,346
Number of Active Loans 12,796 3,434 15,163 8,164 39,557
Outstanding portfolio($) 9,950,647 4,550,802 9,677,096 1,075,055 25,253,600
Portfolio at Risk 5.13% 2.30% 4.06% 0.18% 7.26%
No. of Loans Disbursed
during 2015
11,888 3,678 13,293 9,334 38,193
Value of Loans
Disbursed($) during 2015
15,574,999 5,483,060 14,241,735 2,599,001 37,898,795

4. Socio-Economic Impact
Political Crisis

6. Impact of Crisis on Clients / Syria
The below results were based on a sample survey of active clients of 7,965
•Displacement: 71.3% of clients fleeing from their homes
•Looting and closure of businesses: 61% of all businesses were damaged.
•Destruction and loss of housing: 55.7% of houses were damaged of these 14%
were completely destroyed
•Income and expenditure: 82.5% of clients suffered drastic decrease in their
monthly income, of these 16.4% were completely without income
•Clients coping strategies: 87% of clients decreased expenditures on food,
90% decreased expenditures on clothing, and 86% on housing needs
•Hardships of clients and their households: 48% suffered from lack of
Shelter, 44% from shortage of food, 56% shortage of medicines, 35% shortage of clean
water

7. Crisis Management / Syria
A. Operations:
• Continued lending through opening three
branches in safer areas/ allocating staff to
these areas
• Implemented a decentralized approach in
lending with proper controls to cope with the
lack of communication
• Adaptation of the MIS to the needed
decentralization of financial and operational
processes
• Introduced new lending products considering
market changes and demand (moveable
projects)
• Increased the internal audit functions and
scope
• Rationalized operational costs
• Close monitoring and follow up on all market
changes, security issues and its effect on clients
B. Staff
•Staff security is first priority
•Strengthened effective communication
channels among staff
•Strengthened team work and staff unity
despite any political beliefs
•Empowered staff towards
decentralization in decision making
•Capacity building of staff to handle
combined functions

8. Impact of Crisis on Clients / Gaza
The below results were based on a census survey of all active clients of 3,289
by July 2014
•Displacement : 35% of clients fleeing from their homes
•Hosting others : 25% of clients hosted other families (average of hosting
duration was 21 days)
•Damage of businesses : 16% of clients’ businesses were damaged during the
war with estimated loss valued at $2.7 million, labor at businesses declined by 11%
and revenues by 39% on average
•Destruction and loss of housing: 38% of houses were damaged out of which 7 %
were completely destroyed
•Monthly income : 57% of clients suffered from falling their monthly income
•Clients coping strategies : 78% decrease expenditure on food, 65% reduced daily
meals, 51% reduced food consumed by adults towards their children.
•Obstacles of clients and their households: 48% suffered from lack of Shelter,
44% from shortage of food, 56% shortage of medicines, 35% shortage of clean water

9. Crisis Management / Gaza
A. Operations:
• Continued lending under most critical situation;
• Intensive follow up with clients to assess the
effect of the crisis on their businesses;
• Directing the lending towards the appropriate
economic sector (trade and services) with
effective guarantee mechanisms;
• Concentrate on renewed clients to contain the
risk;
B. Staff:
•Staff security is first priority
•Capacity building of staff to handle
combined functions to decrease cost
•Train staff to handle crisis and adaptation
to change

10. Success Through Crisis
• In 2011, Zayed started planting his own
agricultural land with tomatoes, parsley,
lettuce and spinach,..
• Zayed started to look for a source of financing
to secure a working capital when he became a
regular client by 2012;
• Zayed’s business was negatively affected by
Israeli war on Gaza in 2014.
• Israeli tanks ruined Zayed’s land, resulting in
total losses of about US$ 16,000.
• With the ending of the war, Zayed started to
look for means of support since he lost his
investment and income
• Zayed succeeded in resuming the farming of
his land and soon started to generate income
with the support of UNRWA’s microfinance
loans;
• He earns an average monthly income of US$
700
Client Name : Zayed Husein Jame'
Age : 39 Years
Location : Azzanna – Khan Younis
Dependents : 6 Dependents
Type of Business : Agricultural land
Loan
No.
Loan Product
Loan Amount
US$
Loan Start Date Loan Status
1 MEC US$ 500 19 April 2012 Closed
2 MEC US$ 800 14 October 2012 Closed
3 MEC US$ 1,000 3 October 2013 Closed
4 MEC US$ 1,500 13 May 2014 Closed
5 MEC US$ 600 15 September 2015 Closed
6 MEC US$ 1,500 3 February 2016 Active
Client History Profile

11. Success Through Opportunity & Determination
• Jehan is one of the most hardworking micro-entrepreneurs who
succeeded in supporting her family despite her serious illness and
the disability of her husband and two eldest children;
• Jehan runs a business for planting and producing thyme (Za’tar) in
addition to honey production;
• Before 1997, Jehan used to work as an Arabic language teacher in
Tulkarm, because of the disability of her two children, she left her
job to take care of them and of her husband who also became sick
• In 2003, Jehan began her business when she started to harvest the
fresh thyme and sell it to few customers;
• To meet the demand, Jehan planted a piece of land of five dunums
with thyme, and got assistance from her husband and children
• "All family members work in the business including my two disabled
twins as they need to strengthen their hands, and this made us a
stronger family“, Jihan said.
• She started to market small quantities of her honey production
outside the country in the United Arab Emirates through non-
governmental organizations;
• In 2010, Jehan started to receive UNRWA’s financing through the
Microfinance Department to secure the needed materials to plant
and produce thyme;
• her business development was financed through six loans valued at
JD 7,500 received over six years
• Jehan is an exceptional example of determination and hope;
Regardless of sickness and disability in her family, she says that: "life
shouldn't stop at this point or any point, one must stay strong".
Client Name : Jehan Ismail Ibrahim Tubeh
Age : 45 years
Location : Tulkarm/ Kafr Jamal
Dependents : 6 persons
Loan Purpose : Thyme production
Loan No. Loan Amount (JD) Loan Start Date
Loan
Status
1 500 4 January 2010 Closed
2 1,000 19 December 2010 Closed
3 1,500 16 January 2012 Closed
4 1,500 20 February 2013 Closed
5 1,500 18 March 2014 Closed
6 1,500 15 April 2015 Still Active
Client History Profile

12. Thank you
UNRWA’s Microfinance Department
will keep supporting its clients through providing
the financial services