Microfinance Market Potential Study

The SANAD Fund for MSME views the micro, small and medium enterprise sector as an engine of economic development, job creation and prosperity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This also makes it a vast and as yet untapped investment opportunity. To realize this potential, SANAD provides debt and equity financing to local partner institutions for on-lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and fueling their growth.

To further maximize both the Fund’s impact and its returns, SANAD also provides hands-on support to partner institutions via its Technical Assistance Facility. The TAF supports SANAD’s mission by providing partner institutions with the hands-on support they need to optimize product offerings, tap new customer segments, adapt to alternative lending technologies, and develop new initiatives.

SANAD intends to support the ACM (Autorité de Contrôle de la Microfinance) in Tunisia in conducting a focused study to determine market potential in the microfinance sector. The outcome of the study should facilitate an accurate evaluation of the demand for microfinance among micro-enterprises, and the sector’s ability to meet that demand now and over the next five years. The goal of the study is to provide this information to the ACM and market players, and to reinforce the ACM’s ability to monitor competition.