Citibank N. A. Jordan and Inclusive Finance advancing financial access for women

AMMAN — Citibank N. A. Jordan is working in collaboration with Citi’s Inclusive Finance group to advance financial access for 10,000 women across Jordan, according to a statement of the Citibank N. A. Jordan. 

Jordan has made progress in advancing financial inclusion for women in recent years, the statement said, citing the Global Findex data released by the World Bank.

 In 2018, a total of 26.6 per cent of women in Jordan had a bank account, recording more 10 per cent increase since 2014.

However, with just over one in ten women in Jordan participating in the formal economy, there is still more work to be done to ensure that women in Jordan are financially included across the country.

The collaboration will take place through Microfund for Women, which provides sustainable financial services that enable women in Jordan to achieve greater financial independence.

The Fund offers small business development loans that average $539 to some of the country’s most marginalised populations (96 per cent of them women), providing them with the financial resources they need to start their own micro businesses.

To help achieve this goal, Microfund for Women has received the sum of $5m from Citibank N. A. Jordan, through Citi’s partnership with the US Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation. 

This amount will help provide loans to an additional 10,000 Jordanian women, increasing their number of borrowers by 7 per cent. 

Greater financial inclusion for these 10,000 women will be helpful for both the borrowers and the economy, the statement indicated. 

Noting that this is the first partnership with Citi N. A. Jordan, MFWs Managing Director Muna Sukhtian said, “This loan will be used to provide a financial resource for entrepreneurial youth, especially women in their start- ups which will have a direct positive impact on the beneficiaries and the society as a whole”.

In remarks, Nour Jarrar, Citibank N. A. Jordan’s CEO said, “The deal is just the latest example of how this innovative public-private partnership — the “Global Inclusive Finance Framework” — leverages inclusive businesses and local microfinance institutions in emerging markets across the world to extend microloans in local currencies to borrowers that need support”. 

So far, Citi Inclusive Finance and OPIC have funded 65 institutions in 50 countries.