From July 2008 issue of Syria Today:
Syria’s first microfinance institution will start operating in the coming weeks, giving a diverse range of small businesses, professionals and individuals access to financial services that would otherwise remain out of reach to them.
An initiative of the international development agency Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the First Microfinance Institution (FMFI) will provide small loans, deposit facilities and a range of other financial services to clients in six Syrian governorates.
“Our prime objective is poverty alleviation, but our loans don’t just target the poor,” Bassel al-Hariri al-Rifai, head of microfinance at FMFI, said. “Around 90 percent of the Syrian population doesn’t have proper access to financial services. There are various reasons for this including low average income and tax avoidance.”
March 2003 press release by AKDN on Microcredit
AKDN in Syria
Ismailimail 