Publications

The Arab microfinance sector increased investment in physical and human resources to achieve record growth in outreach and scale in 2006, despite various limitations imposed by the regulatory environment. While the sector is among the youngest in the world, it is showing signs of maturity as efficiency gains begin to taper and MFI returns hit a plateau. Technological innovation and service quality may well be the catalysts for enhancing efficiency and further expanding outreach to achieve the sector’s goal of 10 million clients by 2010.

Benchmarking Arab Microfinance 2006 examines the performance of 37 Arab MFIs from nine different Arab countries. In addition, panel data from 23 institutions is used to illustrate performance trends over the 2005–2006 two-year period. For the benefit of comparability, the Arab benchmarks are also analyzed within the context of 704 global MFIs. Additional outreach data from a regional survey of 97 Arab microfinance providers completes the landscape view. The report begins by outlining the outreach and scale of the sector before turning to an examination of the funding structure and financial performance of Arab MFIs. The conclusion points out some significant transformations taking place in the industry and highlights key challenges and opportunities for the region to reach its full potential.