In a press release on 14 November, the EIB said the loan agreement would increase Jordanian entrepreneurs’:

“access to finance, mainly female entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals, sole proprietors and micro entrepreneurs groups including female Syrian refugees in urban and rural areas of Jordan. The EIB credit line will be part of supporting up to 146,000 beneficiaries of which 96% will be dedicated for female borrowers.”

In 2014, the EIB granted €2m to the microfinance lender.

In a video published by the EIB this week, Lama Zawati of Microfund for Women said the second round of funding would “help us to improve our products and sustain our financial and non-financial services” and that “the EIB is the leading finance player in the region”.

The EIB, the EU’s development bank, stated that it “has provided a total of €1.4bn to projects, including in the energy, small business and transport sectors” in Jordan.