Grameen in Turkey & Tunisia

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/finance/11652153.asp?scr=1


Microcredits as macrohelpers
.
ISTANBUL - Threatened by the ever-increasing unemployment figures in the country, Turkish women have been seeking ways to contribute to the household income. Their search has lead women to discover microcredit, according to an expert on the topic. Since its foundation, the microcredit system has proved to be an effective way out of the crisis, he says Unemployment figures have risen to 3.5 million in Turkey due to the global economic crisis. However, the global turmoil has not borne bad news for everyone, with several Turkish women managing quite well after seeing opportunity in the crisis to establish their own businesses. The Turkish Grameen Microcredit Project started in the Diyarbakır region on July 18, 2003. At the time, loans provided for five women were each worth 500 Turkish Liras. The number of women who purchased microcredit in Turkey between 2003 and 2008 was 10,000. However, the crisis must have pushed the right buttons for women, because nearly 11,000 additional women have applied for microcredit within the past nine months. There are 27 branches that have provided microcredit. As per the beginning of May, that figure rose to 42. As per May 9, the total number of women that had benefited from microcredit was 21,248. In September 2008, that figure stood at 12,332. The microcredit system provided loans worth nearly 27 million liras since it entered the Turkish market. ... Asian Tigers hold on tight The four so-called Asian Tigers, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, were strongly affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The microcredit system proved highly effective in helping the Asian Tigers cope with the crisis. The support provided by the microcredit system, founded by Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus, has proven to be quite effective in helping people climb back up the ladder to escape crises. The increase in applications to obtain microcredits runs parallel to that trend, said Akgül. "If we had 10 million liras we would have distributed it in 33 cities within the next two to three months," he said. .. In the Grameen Microcredit Project in Turkey, credits are used for about 70 different activities.
===============================
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Grameen-Foundation-988308.html

Enda Inter-Arabe Goes Live on Mifos Information Management Platform
Tunisian Microfinance Pioneer Invests in Technology to Accelerate Growth
Highlighted Links
Mifos
BEIRUT, LEBANON--(Marketwire - May 12, 2009) - Sanabel Microfinance Conference -- Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Limited and Grameen Foundation today announced the first Arab microfinance institution (MFI) to go live on the Mifos open source Management Information System (MIS) platform Enda inter-arabe (enda) in Tunisia.
One of the Arab Region's pioneering MFIs, enda selected Mifos, a highly flexible, cost-effective technology platform specifically designed for microfinance, to help drive and sustain its outreach, innovation and growth. Enda expects its investment in Mifos, the open source initiative developed by Grameen Foundation and launched in the Arab World by Grameen-Jameel, will assist it in managing its high growth from the current 100,000-plus poor clients across Tunisia to its target of 300,000 by the end of 2012. The announcement was made at the 2009 Sanabel Microfinance Conference in Beirut, Lebanon, the largest gathering of microfinance practitioners and leading stakeholders in the Middle East and North Africa.
Founded in Tunisia in 1990, enda began micro-credit in 1995 and has served as a leader for the sector, providing broader financial inclusion for Tunisian micro-entrepreneurs through innovative high-quality services. In December 2008, it was ranked 18th in the 2008 Mix Global 100 list of the top 100 best performing MFIs globally and has aggressive plans to reach 300,000 clients, with a loan portfolio totaling more than US$160 million by the end of 2012. .. Grameen Foundation worked directly with enda's staff to craft a training, rollout and user adoption strategy that successfully aligned the Mifos technology with enda's business processes. An aggressive execution plan allowed enda to bring on five to seven branches in a first testing phase and then successfully roll out Mifos across all 52 branches with no interference to daily operations.
Enda will continue to work with the community to extend the Mifos platform, driving growth and social impact across the region. Visit http://www.mifos.org/ to learn more, download the product, and become a part of the Mifos community.
About Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Limited
Grameen-Jameel is a Social Business established in 2007 as a joint venture between Grameen Foundation and Bab Rizq Jameel Limited, a subsidiary of Abdul Latif Jameel Group. The company alleviates poverty in the Arab World by forming strategic partnerships with microfinance institutions and providing technical and financing support through its guarantee program. To date, Grameen-Jameel has facilitated local currency financing of US$44 million backed by US$20 million in guarantees to its partners. Grameen-Jameel has reached more than 350,000 new microfinance clients through its partners in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen.