Microfinance Focus, August 9, 2011: According to the findings of a survey done by the Arab Microfinance Network - Sanabel, microfinance institutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen have experienced serious challenges in operations as a result of the Arab revolution.

The impacts ranged from complete shut-down of the head office and branches for days and weeks at a time, to altering working hours to suit imposed curfews. As a result, many MFIs ceased disbursement for certain periods of time, experienced variations and difficulty in collection, and consequently have witnessed an increase in portfolio at risk (PAR) and overall expenses.

Portfolio at Risk in Egypt during March-April 2011 was 5.87 percent and in Tunisia it was 2.23 percent during the same period. Growth in the numbers of active borrowers and gross loan portfolio has been on a decline since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile Sanabel has entered into a strategic partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Under this collaboration, GIZ will be designing and implementing a 3-year regional microfinance project in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The project’s key interventions will aim at strengthening the regulatory framework in selected countries in the region including Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine.

Sanabel has also joined the Imp-Act Consortium, a global group of organizations working to promote and support the management of social performance by MFIs.