Jordan Times
Thursday, October 13, 2005
'Global Microentrepreneurship
Awards to promote microfinance'
AMMAN (JT) — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Suhair Al-Ali said
Wednesday that Jordan has joined 29 other countries in launching the Global
Microentrepreneurship Awards (GMA) to encourage true entrepreneurship as part of
plans to eradicate poverty in the country.
The minister's remarks came during a meeting held with members of GMA's National
Advisory and Selection Committees chaired by Al-Ali. Both committees are being
tasked with overseeing the awards' implementation in Jordan.
The meeting was also attended by the National GMA Team comprising the UNCD,
Citigroup and Sanabel (the Microfinance Network of the Arab Countries).
“The Jordanian government along with the United Nations' various organisations,
Sanabel network, national NGOs and microcredit organisations are diligently
working together to make microentrepreneurship a reality in the Kingdom. The GMA
come as a vehicle to popularise this very important socio-economic enabler by
providing role models and success stories to potential entrepreneurs,” Al-Ali
said.
In June, Microfinance institutions (MFIs) were invited to nominate candidates
from their pool of clients for the GMA. To ensure that the award goes to
deserving microentrepreneurs, the individual nominee's first loan from the
designated MFIs may not exceed JD1,000.
Winners will be selected according to the following criteria: Contributing
positively to their families and communities, improving their own quality of
life through achieving growth and profitability, and their successful use of
technology and innovative methods to make their service/product competitive and
of market value.
Ziyad Akrouk, Citigroup country officer in Jordan, said: “Citigroup Foundation,
Citigroup's social investment arm, is a global partner in the GMA programme.
Given our position as the preeminent financial institution and a global
corporate citizen, we have a responsibility to help raise standards of living in
all the societies we work in by providing the tools for sustainable income
generation. We are active in supporting financial education in the Kingdom and
we work closely with leading microfinance institutions locally as well as in the
region.”
Ahmad Al Ashmawi, executive director of Sanabel, praised the microfinance sector
in Jordan for adopting best practices early on.
In his address to the advisory council, Ashmawi said: “By selecting Jordan to
take part in this important competition, the GMA principle partners are
recognising the role of Jordan in promoting best practice microfinance in the
Arab world. This award scheme represents an important tool for creating
awareness about microfinance at all social levels: Family and community of the
winner, students, the press, business community, academics as well as
decision-makers in Jordan.”
In a bid to celebrate entrepreneurship and to highlight the impact of
microfinance on poverty alleviation, the United Nations General Assembly has
declared 2005 as the International Year of Microcredit.
“The International Year of Microcredit 2005 highlights the tremendous
opportunity for Jordan to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals, which have poverty eradication at their core. We have been
working with several national governmental and non-governmental institutions to
identify and support microentrepreneurs from around the country,” according to
UNDP Country Representative Christine McNab.