Jordan: Proparco is supporting a bank committed to financing SMEs run by women

Capital Bank of Jordan (CBJ) was set up in 1995 as a corporate bank specialized in export and trade finance. It has carried out a strategic reorientation towards SME financing and close client proximity through digital channels and well-designed digital products and services. Capital Bank of Jordan has been a client of AFD since 2010.

The loan by Proparco (USD 50m) and DEG (USD 25m) will help Capital Bank of Jordan finance and develop its SME portfolio, with a focus on companies run by women, start-ups and Fintechs, companies owned by young people and SMEs located outside the capital, Amman. An impact premium financed by a grant (MENA Facility) will be set up simultaneously if all the performance criteria are achieved. The objective is to help the bank finance segments that have difficulty accessing traditional financial services, but are considered to have a major impact on economic development. The MENA Facility launched by AFD Group with support from the European Union has been operational since mid-2021. It aims to support financial inclusion and SME financing in seven Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. 

The project will improve access to financing for some 410 SMEs by focusing on underserved segments: companies run by women, start-ups and Fintechs, companies owned by young people and SMEs located outside Amman. 

By focusing on financing companies owned or run by women, the project qualifies under the 2X Challenge initiative (https://www.2xchallenge.org/). 

The project will also maintain some 9,700 jobs in the SMEs financed by PROPARCO’s loan to the bank.

The project will thereby contribute to SDG 8 (“Decent work and economic growth”), SDG 5 (“Gender equality”) and SDG 10 (“Reduced inequalities”).