As spring turned to summer and now winter, the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa continue.  At first the euphoria was widespread as Arabs across the region began to see a future for the first time without dictatorship, corruption, and hypocrisy.   Nearly one year after Mohammed Bouazizi’s self-immolation on December 17 in Tunisia, [...]

The Arab Spring took everyone by surprise. There was a series of underlying factors, among them being  a young and growing population, improved education levels for men and women, and decreasing fertility rates, all leading to a vast number of people seeking better economic and social opportunities and questioning traditional patriarchal structures. In addition, unemployment, [...]

Very few revolutions go smoothly—Tunisia’s is no exception. The disruptions caused by job-destroying strikes and general mayhem have made reaping the expected gains of democracy more difficult to achieve.

There are vibrant debates in the press and online about how to reform Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) economies in the wake of the Arab Spring. There are very different views on how to build a more equitable and inclusive growth model for regional economies. But from right to left, from Islamic parties to [...]

The winds of the Arab Spring gusted late into Syria, arriving within a climate quite distinct from the political storm that swept through Egypt and Tunisia. Violent clashes between protestors and government forces in Syria are ongoing without any sign of slackening, dispute resolution, or concord bringing a timely settlement.  At this point, the balance [...]

Since early 2011, the situation in Yemen has been deteriorating because of security and political disturbances. The productivity of micro-entrepreneur projects in Yemen has dramatically declined and even stopped.  Also, the continued power blackouts and the lack of food and gasoline have led to stalled projects, and a repayment crisis. 

In the wake of the January 25th Revolution in Egypt, it has become increasingly important to support sustainable job creation for the millions of Egyptians who were demanding such opportunities in Egyptian squares nationwide. The process of responding to this demand entails creating equal opportunities and a level playing field in a way that moves from [...]

Some countries in the Arab region are  experiencing security and political unrest due to the successive revolutions  Naturally all sectors of the state are affected, and each sector must take some precautionary steps to get to safety. Since the microfinance sector mainly deals with low-income people who don’t have access to financial services from traditional [...]

Revolutions that have occurred, or the so-called Arab Spring, in some of the Arab countries have had a direct impact on the microfinance industry, like all other sectors. However, the impact has differed from one country to another, according to the relevant background of each country. It also differed within the same country, based on [...]

Looking at microfinance in the MENA region, one gets a rather ambiguous picture. On the one side, the sector is characterized by high returns, good portfolio quality, and continuous growth. On the other side, leverage is amongst the lowest of the world. This emphasizes the issue that currently only two countries of the region (Yemen, [...]

After the revolution of January 2011, Tunisians experienced poverty at a level far more critical than official statements had suggested. Microfinance has quickly been identified as one of the tools that can help reduce inequalities, address exclusion, and strengthen the country’s economic fabric, as already shown by the achievements of Enda Inter-Arabe (Enda) and the [...]

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been facing a series of unprecedented events in 2011, resulting in a great deal of change after over three decades of stagnant political dictatorship, uneven economic growth, and increased poverty. Since January, the people of Tunisia and Egypt have demonstrated, calling for change and demanding democracy [...]

The revolution in Egypt was a chance for the Egyptian people to get back the freedom and pride that were lost for a long time. However, starting January 28, the country experienced insecurity, uncertainty, and violence, especially by those who wanted to take advantage of the precarious situation. The imposed curfew also limited day-to-day activities. [...]

Since the beginning of 2011, a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests have been taking place in the Arab world. There have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt where regimes have been changed; a civil war in Libya; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; and major protests in other countries of the region. Economic [...]