The SANAD Fund for MSME (SANAD) has enabled more than USD 1 billion in sub-loan disbursements made by partner institutions to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) and households. These loans support growth and employment creation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
SANAD has achieved this significant milestone despite challenging markets, COVID 19, and the food security crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine, highlighting the fund’s ability to leverage its unique strengths to deliver impact across its target region. By working in partnership with 43 partner institutions, SANAD has been instrumental in enabling 264,000 sub-loans since the fund’s inception, empowering young and female entrepreneurs and MSMEs. Together with this financing, the SANAD Technical Assistance Facility has contributed strongly to building the necessary capacity of the fund’s partners by engaging into long-term partnerships to serve the needs of small businesses in the region.
SANAD contributes to six of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the USD 1 billion disbursed in sub-loans, the fund contributes to SDG 9, namely Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, by facilitating inclusive industrialization and giving small-scale enterprises access to finance and innovative business solutions. The loans have a clear focus on the underserved very small businesses in the region with an average loan size of USD 3,721, while a large majority of these loans (88%) were facilitated in local currency.
As a blended finance fund, SANAD also contributes to SDG 17, Partnership for the Goals, by bringing together public and private investors for sustainable development. Investors and donors have committed over USD 471 million to the SANAD Debt Sub-Fund, and USD 69 million to the SANAD Equity Sub-Funds.
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