Ibdaa Bank is a main sponsor of the Syrian Economic Dialogue Forum

Under the patronage of Prime Minister Engineer Hussein Arnous, the Delta Economics and Business Group organized the Syrian Economic Dialogue Forum under the title (Investment, Banking and Small Enterprises - The Economic Recovery Trilogy) on Monday morning at the Sheraton Hotel in Damascus with wide participation from businessmen and representatives of government agencies concerned with the sectors of industry, trade, agriculture, investment and finance. . Prime Minister Engineer Hussein Arnous confirmed that Law No. 8 on microfinance institutions has all the necessary flexibility and was studied with the greatest care and positivity possible to achieve the societal goal for which it was issued, indicating that the government is working to activate the process of contributing to microfinance institutions and increase small and micro projects. Childhood and providing the necessary support to them. Engineer Arnous indicated that the interventions and recommendations at the forum will be studied and will receive great attention from the government. He said, “We are ready to put any file on the discussion table in a way that achieves the interest of the nation. It is necessary to invest national capital in supporting small and medium business projects, as well as encouraging the increase of microfinance banks,” wishing the banks The list must have some type of specific portfolio to serve the development process in micro-projects. For his part, the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Dr. Muhammad Samer Al-Khalil, stressed during the forum that the recovery of productive sectors is an essential path to recovery based on the principle of self-reliance, and this requires real investments, the ability to finance, and reducing financing costs. Al-Khalil noted the importance of encouraging small projects because they are the mainstay of the economy and occupy the largest percentage of existing projects at the national level, which enable the economy to revive again, pointing to the role of the agricultural sector, both plant and animal, in covering the needs of the local market during the years of war. The CEO of Delta Economics and Business Group, which organizes the forum, Ghiath Shamaa, confirmed that the forum seeks to reach practical, implementable outcomes to serve industrial and investment projects, provide the necessary financing for them, and develop the business environment to be integrated, in which legislation and appropriate procedures are available. Within the second axis, the participants in the forum discussed the financing strategy to support the Syrian economy and finance small and medium business projects, where the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kenan Yaghi, spoke about the government’s policy in the field of lending and project financing, stressing its keenness to provide a flexible banking sector that enjoys a wide range of banking products to encourage investments and support projects of all kinds. Financing foreign trade and import operations. Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Dr. Muhammad Issam Hazma, pointed out that the growth rate of lending in operating banks during the past year increased to 130 percent, without recording any cases of default on loans as a result of the continuous follow-up of the loans granted. Hazma explained that at the beginning of this year, operating banks were allowed to grant loans and financing to a number of industrial projects in addition to projects related to energy production, without ceilings, provided that real economic feasibility is presented and that the loan payments are paid according to the stages of project implementation, with the aim of preventing speculation on the exchange rate using these funds. Director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, Ihab Ismandar, stressed the importance of the small enterprise sector and the solutions it provides to economic problems, such as high unemployment and poverty rates, and its contribution to sustainable development and enhancing local output, pointing out that the majority of this sector’s problems are cumulative, whether financing, marketing, or technical. The CEO of the Ebdaa Microfinance Bank, Adeeb Sharaf, confirmed in his speech during the conference that Law No. 8 of 2021, which allowed the establishment of microfinance banks, strengthened the concept of financial inclusion and gave these banks greater flexibility in granting credit facilities and moving strongly towards supporting micro-enterprises, stressing the importance of training and qualification. For those wishing to establish projects, which is what the bank focuses on before granting loans by providing various training and advisory services, whether professional or professional, to loan applicants. Sharaf pointed out that the Ebdaa Microfinance Bank in Syria has taken important steps to expand its expansion map, provide its services to citizens, and increase the number of beneficiaries of its banking services, whose number to date has exceeded 80,000. The bank's CEO indicated in a statement to reporters that the bank's sponsorship of this conference comes to emphasize the important role of microfinance banks and to communicate with all concerned to develop the work of these banks. He confirmed that the bank opened its main branch last month in the Al-Abed Street area in Damascus, providing deposit, withdrawal and lending services. Three offices were also opened, including an office in the city of Qatana in the Damascus countryside and two offices in the Latakia countryside in the cities of Al-Haffa and Beit Yashout, in addition to its branches in Jaramana in the Damascus countryside and in As-Suwayda and Tartous governorates. There is a plan to open several new branches and offices. He pointed out that there is a great demand for borrowing from the bank as a result of the simple procedures and guarantees required to obtain the loan, the ceiling of which currently reaches 5 million liras. The bank also grants loans to projects under establishment and follows up on borrowers and provides them with training and consultations to ensure the success of the project. As a result, the percentage Loan defaults are almost non-existent.