Al Majmoua

Established in 1997, the Lebanese Association for Development (Al Majmoua) is the leading microfinance organisation in Lebanon. It currently has 45,000 active microcredit clients, and 300 employees spread over 28 branches. Initially founded by Save the Children, Al Majmoua provides financial services to low income individuals, especially women, from all nationalities in Lebanon. Al Majmoua also provides non-financial services to both borrowers and non-borrowers, including financial literacy, technical skills training, job placement, apprenticeship, and business development and entrepreneurship services

Related sustainable development goals

  • No Poverty
  • Gender Equality
  • Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • Reduced Inequalities
  • Partnerships for the Goals

Impact

725k+ loans disbursed

$871m+ value of disbursed loans

Focus areas

Focus sectors

  • Development
    • Business and industry
      • Entrepreneurship
    • Financial services
      • Development finance
        • Microfinance
    • Economic development
      • Financial services

Focus populations

  • Domestic workers
  • Low-income people
  • Older adults
  • Refugees and displaced people
  • Undocumented immigrants
  • Victims of conflict and war
  • Widows and widowers
  • Women and girls

Focus geographies

  • Middle East
    • Lebanon

Partners

  • Babyloan
  • Bank Audi
  • Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries (BBAC)
  • CashUnited
  • CoopMed
  • Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO)
  • European Investment Bank
  • Fransabank
  • International Rescue Committee
  • Kiva
  • La Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID)
  • Lebanese Micro-Finance Association
  • Liban Post
  • MicroFinance Network
  • OMT
  • Oxfam
  • Palestine Investment Fund
  • Palladium
  • responsAbility
  • Rotary Club of Byblos
  • Sanabel
  • SANAD Fund for MSME
  • Save the Children
  • SIDI (Solidarité Internationale du Développement et de l'Investissement)
  • Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL)
  • Symbiotics
  • Triodos Investment Management
  • Triple Jump
  • Whole Planet Foundation

Programmes

  • Business development services
    Offering micro business training and support for all aspect of their operations, from writing business plans to SWOT analyses, promotion and legal registration.
  • Group loan
    For women of all nationalities legally residing in Lebanon for at least six months to help improve their living conditions and start or develop a business.
  • Individual micro loan
    Loans for males and females of all nationalities legally residing in Lebanon for at least 24 months to help develop existing businesses or living conditions.
  • Micro plus loan
    Loans for small businesses to help them to increase their operating capital by covering the cost of new equipment. Available for men and women legally residing in Lebanon for at least 24 months.
  • Personal development programme

    Personal development sessions around gender awareness, women's economic rights, communication, self-confidence, decisionmaking and household budget management. Awareness sessions on children's rights, including domestic violence. Networking sessions for women to make new contacts and gain self-confidence.

  • Product quality improvement and control

    Awareness sessions on food quality, hygiene, and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) – designed specifically for food and agri-business micro-entrepreneurs.

  • Toolkits and equipment
    Delivery of business toolkits and start-up solutions packs.

Financials

Funding model

  • Loans to Individuals
  • Pro bono services
    • Pro bono program design and analysis services

Primary funders

  • EU - Madad
  • Fondation de France
  • Impact Lebanon
  • Save the Children

Funding source

  • Corporate
  • Fundraising
  • Private

Operations

Key staff

  • Youssef Fawaz, executive director

Board members

  • Ramzi El Hafez, president
  • Nicole Fayad
  • Maria Osseimi
  • Hussein Rifaï, vice president
  • Hanin Abdallah
  • Roland Tok

Contact details

More

Resources

Building back: how Beirut mobilised after the blast. Read more

Paying dividends: why we need to invest in education. Read more