SFD targets 100,000 entrepreneurs by 2012

Microfinance can convert poor women to producers.

The Social Fund for Development stated that it has a strategic plan aimed at increase its clients to one hundred thousand to manage small projects in all governorates by 2012, said Osama al-Shami, Head of Small and Micro Enterprise Development (SMED) unit for Social Fund for Development (SFD).

He said that during concluding of training course for women in managing of small enterprises, held last Tuesday in Sana'a.
 
Al-Shami said that the SFD set up Microfinance Program and grant more than three thousand of borrowers which women form 80percent of them. These enterprises convert poor to producers.

In terms of the clients of microfinance, al-Shami said "the clients of microfinance are head of households spatially women, small farmers, and micro-entrepreneurs."

Microfinance is a powerful tool to fight poverty. When poor people have access to financial services, al-Shami said. He continued saying that they can earn more, build their assets, and cushion themselves against external shocks as well as and reduce their vulnerability to economic stress as well as Poor households use microfinance to move from everyday survival to planning for the future: they invest in better nutrition, housing, health, and education.

In terms of women empowerment, al-Shami confirmed that microfinance programs have generally targeted poor people spatially women. By providing access to financial services through women—making women responsible for loans, ensuring repayment through women, maintaining savings accounts for women, providing insurance coverage through women—microfinance programs send a strong message to households as well as to communities. Many qualitative and quantitative studies have documented how access to financial services has improved the status of women within the family and the community. Women have become more assertive and confident. In regions where women's mobility is strictly regulated, women have become more visible and are better able to negotiate the public sphere, enabling them to better confront systemic gender inequities. Women own assets, including land and housing, and play a stronger role in decision making.

In terms of Benefits of microfinance to the economy, economists have considered SMEs as one of the tools to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment, by developing the quality of administrative and marketing skills of entrepreneurs, reflecting the importance of SMEs in their ability to generate jobs with low capital cost, contributing to address the unemployment problem faced by most countries al-Shami said.

Al-Shami expressed proudly about the role of SMEs to the economy saying that "SMEs have linkages with large enterprises that contribute to the increase and diversification of income, in addition to adding value within their local communities.  The government gives great attention for the importance of SMEs in moving the economy and reducing poverty and unemployment in Yemen.

For good contribution for reducing unemployment rate, al-Shami said that the SFD has established a number of MFIs, with the objective of providing sustainable services that target different segments of entrepreneurs. The number of active borrowers associated with the MFIs has reached more than 35,000 active borrowers, 80percent of them are women. The cumulative number of dispersed loans has reached more than 216,000 during the past ten years.

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