Tamweelcom Launches Educational Grant Programme, ’Marketing gateway?

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Microfinance is in no way charity, rather it is a proven effective tool to assist low-income families move beyond hand-to-mouth survival and plan for the future.

With this in mind, one of the Kingdom’s major micro-lenders, Tamweelcom, held an event on Saturday to launch an educational grant programme and a newly developed “marketing gateway.”

“Tamweelcom has looked beyond lending like traditional microfinance institutions. We are providing a value chain service and have introduced new techniques? our clients know that we are not just a loan centre, we are business service providers; and word of mouth is our biggest promoter,” Tamweelcom CEO Ziad Rifai told The Jordan Times.

AMMAN ? Microfinance is in no way charity, rather it is a proven effective tool to assist low-income families move beyond hand-to-mouth survival and plan for the future.

With this in mind, one of the Kingdom’s major micro-lenders, Tamweelcom, held an event on Saturday to launch an educational grant programme and a newly developed “marketing gateway.”

“Tamweelcom has looked beyond lending like traditional microfinance institutions. We are providing a value chain service and have introduced new techniques? our clients know that we are not just a loan centre, we are business service providers; and word of mouth is our biggest promoter,” Tamweelcom CEO Ziad Rifai told The Jordan Times.

The event was held at Al Hussein Park to coincide with the “Souk Ayyadi” bazaar, a direct marketing opportunity the micro-credit company has created to allow its clients to showcase and sell their products to the public.

The bazaar is being held there from 6:00-12:00pm and will continue until the end of the month.

As part of their marketing gateway, the souk opened a permanent showroom in Jabal Hussein in addition to its virtual showroom. Five entrepreneurs rotate each month showcasing their handmade products such as embroideries, pottery, mosaics, souvenirs and homemade foods.

The souk plans to become an annual event in all governorates. So far total sales amounted to more than JD30,000 in Zarqa where the first two-week bazaar was held for 65 small business owners and catered to over 10,000 persons, according to Tamweelcom. Profit from sales averaged between JD500-700 per participant.

“The Amman bazaar is our second trial which is proving equally successful. We currently serve five governorates (Amman, Zarqa, Ruseifa, Irbid, Madaba, Aqaba) and plan to reach all 12. Our next bazaar should be in Irbid,” Tamweelcom marketing officer Hasan Jamil, said.

All Tamweelcom clients receive business cards and printed bags for their sales, while advertising and booths, as well as permanent and virtual showroom use is free of charge.

One vendor, Hajjar Al Quaisi, said she received her first loan of JD300 from Tamweelcom two years ago to purchase more home d?cor for the small business she runs with her husband.

Since then, she has received JD700 in total and along with the marketing skills they taught her, she notes that her business supports their family of nine. Her husband, Abed Abu Shama said the small loans come in handy during slow seasons and the only thing he wishes to change in the bazaar is making it last longer. Their average daily sales for hand embroidered table cloths and matching d?cor is around JD200.

“I really cannot complain about any of their services. We are treated with respect and even when we set up our booth, company employees always offer to help display our products and direct customers to us” Abu Shama told the Jordan Times.

Tamweelcom accounts for around 40 per cent of the microcredit market in Jordan, and the nonprofit institution now serves 24,000 clients, 93 per cent of them women.

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Source: Jordan Information Center (link opens in a new window)