MFW Jordan (IFC-42450)

Countries
  • Jordan
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
FI
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jan 15, 2020
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
MICROFUND FOR WOMEN
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 10.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Mar 3, 2020

Disclosed by Bank Nov 14, 2019

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to bank documents, the proposed project entails a local currency loan equivalent to US$10 million with a 5-year tenor to Micro Fund for Women (“MfW”), the largest and leading microfinance institution in Jordan. The proceeds of the IFC loan would be utilized by MfW to support its lending program to very small enterprises (“VSEs”), with a focus on VSEs owned or led by women. Moreover, part of the lending will be earmarked for on-lending to refugees and their host communities.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The Project consists of a senior loan of up to US$10 million equivalent in local currency for up to 5 years to support the Company’s lending program to women owned/led VSEs, refugees and host communities in Jordan.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

MFW launched its operations in 1994 as a Save the Children pilot program that was started in two Palestinian refugee camps in Amman. In 1996, the program expanded significantly and was converted into an independent NGO called the “Jordanian Women’s Development Society (JWDS)”. In 1999, under a joint initiative of Ghiath Sukhtian (60% shareholder) and Save the Children (40% shareholder), JWDS was registered as a non-profit limited liability company under its present name, Microfund for Women, with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Over the years, MfW grew to be the leading MFI with the largest branch network in Jordan operating through 61 branches covering all regions and main populated areas of the Kingdom. By end of Jun-19, MfW had more than 149,000 borrowers (94.6% women) with loan portfolio of US$82 million, representing market share of 32% and 25%, respectively. In 2018, MfW became licensed by the Central Bank of Jordan under the microfinance regulatory framework.   


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Lama Zawati – Deputy managing director
Tel: +962 6 566 6100
Email: L.zawati@microfund.org.jo
Website: www.microfund.org.jo 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

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How it works