Luxembourg, 21/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - FEMIP (the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership), the European Investment Bank's dedicated facility for the nine partner countries on the southern flank of the Mediterranean, granted a long-term loan of nearly 3.6 million Tunisian dinars (€2 million) to help develop the Tunisian ENDA Inter-Arabe microfunding association. Initial funding of €750,000 was granted in June 2006.
The new loan will allow ENDA to grant more than 50,000 micro loans for the startup of small businesses and job creation. The EIB says that FEMIP's new grant to ENDA Inter-Arabe should also have a follow-on catalyst effect on local investment and enable ENDA to meet its growth objectives.
Alongside its work as the biggest financer of development in the region, FEMIP also acts as a EuroMed dialogue and discussion arena. Every year it organises two conferences of politicians and civil society to discuss crucial EuroMed issues. The next conference, focussing in microcredit, will be held in Tunis, the Tunisian capital, on 5 May 2008. (O.L.)