EIB, Arab Bank to fund €300M to SMEs in MENA

CAIRO – 20 December 2017: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Arab Bank signed a financing agreement worth €300 million to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and the West Bank, a Wednesday statement from the EIB said.

Coming under the EIB’s Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), the finance agreement is the first EIB’s regional credit line for SMEs in these countries.

"Our cooperation will contribute to speeding up the delivery of vital finance to support the investments of small and medium enterprise in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and the West Bank. SMEs play an important role in job creation, innovation and sustainable economic growth," Director of EU Neighbouring Countries at the EIB Flavia Palanza said.

Arab Bank’s CEO Nemeh Sabbagh said: “We are honoured to join the EIB in this very special initiative, which is fully aligned with our constant efforts towards supporting economic growth and development in Jordan and our region.

Supporting the SMEs sector is also a key priority of governments throughout the MENA region, Arab Bank’s CEO Nemeh Sabbagh also said in the statement, noting that the bank is committed to contribute overall success of this sector.