BEIRUT, LEBANON -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/12/09 -- Sanabel Microfinance Conference -- Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Limited and Grameen Foundation today announced the first Arab microfinance institution (MFI) to go live on the Mifos open source Management Information System (MIS) platform Enda inter-arabe (enda) in Tunisia.

One of the Arab Region's pioneering MFIs, enda selected Mifos, a highly flexible, cost-effective technology platform specifically designed for microfinance, to help drive and sustain its outreach, innovation and growth. Enda expects its investment in Mifos, the open source initiative developed by Grameen Foundation and launched in the Arab World by Grameen-Jameel, will assist it in managing its high growth from the current 100,000-plus poor clients across Tunisia to its target of 300,000 by the end of 2012. The announcement was made at the 2009 Sanabel Microfinance Conference in Beirut, Lebanon, the largest gathering of microfinance practitioners and leading stakeholders in the Middle East and North Africa.

Founded in Tunisia in 1990, enda began micro-credit in 1995 and has served as a leader for the sector, providing broader financial inclusion for Tunisian micro-entrepreneurs through innovative high-quality services. In December 2008, it was ranked 18th in the 2008 Mix Global 100 list of the top 100 best performing MFIs globally and has aggressive plans to reach 300,000 clients, with a loan portfolio totaling more than US$160 million by the end of 2012. To support this projected growth and further its position as the leading service innovator for the region, it needed a more flexible and scalable technology solution.

Ms. Essma Ben Hamida, enda's executive director, said, "We partnered with Grameen-Jameel to invest in the Mifos open source MIS platform because there is more to Mifos than a loan tracking system. It is a collaborative initiative that can greatly enhance MFIs' ability to exchange experiences and knowledge, adopt new technology components from around the world and have the freedom to engage their own resources to support and extend their technology solutions."

"Enda's successful technology implementation is an example of how technology can stimulate the growth of microfinance providers in the Arab World," said Zaher Al Munajjed, chairman of Grameen-Jameel, a joint venture between Grameen Foundation and Bab Rizq Jameel Limited, that provides catalytic financial and non-financial services to microfinance institutions and to the sector as a whole to extend the sector's ability to impact the poor in the Arab World. "Enda is an innovator and benchmark for other MFIs, and Grameen-Jameel is committed to working with enda and the Mifos community to enable neighboring MFIs to share in enda's experiences and product extensions to adopt and help collectively build a standard technology solution for the Arab region."

A web-based MIS, Mifos supports loan and savings portfolio management, centralised operational reporting, social performance measurement, and can be integrated with other technology solutions. It was launched as a community-driven platform in November 2006 by Grameen Foundation to address the entire industry's need for cost-effective flexible technology that scales and evolves with the rapid growth of microfinance. "Grameen Foundation is harnessing the innovation and collaboration of open source to deliver a comprehensive solution and approach to technology for microfinance, and we are thrilled to be working with Grameen-Jameel to bring this solution to the Arab World," said George Conard, executive director of Mifos. "Enda's investment is already paying off -- during the rollout of Mifos, its growth rate continued uninterrupted. Enda's holistic approach to technology implementation set the right foundation for growth."

Led by Grameen-Jameel, enda used professional services from Grameen Foundation and ThoughtWorks, an Indian development company, to tailor Mifos to fit its unique business requirements, supporting its teller-style model of lending and localisation into French. Grameen Foundation worked directly with enda's staff to craft a training, rollout and user adoption strategy that successfully aligned the Mifos technology with enda's business processes. An aggressive execution plan allowed enda to bring on five to seven branches in a first testing phase and then successfully roll out Mifos across all 52 branches with no interference to daily operations.

Enda will continue to work with the community to extend the Mifos platform, driving growth and social impact across the region. Visit www.mifos.org to learn more, download the product, and become a part of the Mifos community.

About Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Limited
Grameen-Jameel is a Social Business established in 2007 as a joint venture between Grameen Foundation and Bab Rizq Jameel Limited, a subsidiary of Abdul Latif Jameel Group. The company alleviates poverty in the Arab World by forming strategic partnerships with microfinance institutions and providing technical and financing support through its guarantee program. To date, Grameen-Jameel has facilitated local currency financing of US$44 million backed by US$20 million in guarantees to its partners. Grameen-Jameel has reached more than 350,000 new microfinance clients through its partners in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen.

About Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation, a global nonprofit organisation, helps the world's poorest people access financial services and technology solutions by providing financing, technology support and management strategies to the local organisations that serve them. Founded in 1997, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Washington, Grameen Foundation has earned Charity Navigator's four-star rating and the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance seal for its efficiency and fiscal management. Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, is a founding member of its board of directors. For more information, please visit www.grameenfoundation.org.

Grameen Foundation USA

Grameen Foundation USA

Based in Washington, D.C., Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of 52 partners in 22 countries that has impacted an estimated 11 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. The Foundation was created in 1997, inspired by the work of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. Its Growth Guarantee Program, initially capitalized at $31 million when it was launched in late 2005, is a collaboration with Citigroup that projects leveraging more than $180 million in local currency financing for MFIs globally over the next five years.

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