Bank of Palestine: supporting SMEs, women and green projects

Bank of Palestine (BOP) is listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange. It is Palestine’s largest financial institution with a market share of 30%, a geographical coverage of the entire West Bank and Gaza and representation offices in Chile and the United Arab Emirates. The bank is particularly committed to inclusive finance, with the objective of contributing to sustainable economic and social development in Palestine.

The project involves the subscription by FISEA, the AFD Group facility advised by Proparco, of new ordinary shares issued by Bank of Palestine during a reserved capital increase for a total of USD 12m, i.e. a shareholding estimated at 3.3% of the bank’s capital. This financing comes with a technical assistance program and is supporting the bank’s growth, particularly its financing for SMEs, women, renewable energies and energy efficiency.

The equity investment in BOP should allow more than 200 SMEs and companies to access financing, which should indirectly support more than 7,000 jobs over the next 5 years and stimulate growth in personal loans. This investment is combined with a multi-year technical assistance program through which Proparco will be able to support BOP’s initiatives to invest in financial and digital inclusion. This project will thereby contribute to the achievement of SDG 5 “Gender equality” and SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”. The project is also part of the 2X Challenge, a multilateral initiative which aims to support projects that empower women as entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees and consumers.