Alamal Micro Finance Bank to open

Some artisans need micro finance loans from banks to get their business up and running.

Representatives of the Yemeni government, the Social Fund for Development, the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations and   representatives of the Yemeni private sector signed a shareholding contract last week with the Alamal Micro Finance Bank. Each signer invested about 2 YR billion into the bank. The shareholding bank will offer loans and banking services to the poorest people who are looking to begin micro financing ventures.  The bank will run according to established Yemeni strategies for combating poverty.

The contract also stated that the bank’s headquarters will be located in Sana’a, but the board directors can set up branches in all Yemeni governorates and abroad. “The establishment of the Alamal Micro Finance Bank will be an important step toward enhancing governmental efforts to combat poverty,” said Abdul Karim al-Arhabi, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and the Executive Director of the Social Fund for Development. “This bank represents a vital means for poor people to increase their incomes. 

The government is ready to provide all necessary support for any of the national banks wishing to open a window for small-scale lending,” he said. Al-Arhabi focused on the importance of allocating a lending policy that offers low risk investment. Micro finance is considered to be of the most practical means to absorb unemployment because it can create stable jobs with and offers a investment cost. The Micro Finance Bank plans to start its work this year.  Yemen’s government is eager to set up more banks that function to improve the living conditions of the populace. “The establishment of the Micro Finance Bank reflects Yemen’s interest in supporting poor people through small financial loans,” said Nasser al-Qahtani, a representative of Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the chairman of the AGFUND.

Al-Qahtani called on the private sector to contribute to the establishment of similar banks because he said it is one of their religious and national duties to their societies. During the first meeting of the general assembly of the Alamal Micro Finance Bank, Omar Abdurahman Bajarash was selected to be the president of the board of directors. Mohammed Saleh al-Lai was selected to be vice-president  “The bank will provide humanitarian support and assistance to the poor,” Bajarash said.

“The next few months will be devoted to completing all the procedures for launching the bank and providing practical services to the beneficiaries of the poor.”  He called on all private sectors to work with the bank and its board as a unified team working for the achievement of common goals that will contribute to the government’s efforts to fight poverty.

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