NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, December 2, 2013

The regional conference, which was lead-sponsored by Citi Microfinance, was an opportunity to address financial inclusion issues facing women in the region, and find ways to enhance the capacity of microfinance institutions and other relevant entities in a way that would help build the ecosystem for women entrepreneurs across MENA.

More than 250 microfinance practitioners, commercial bankers, investors, donors, and regulators from over 40 countries have attended the conference to explore the financial needs and services in the MENA region, which has the lowest percentage of women participating in the formal finance sector according to the World Bank data. Bob Annibale, Global Director, Citi Microfinance and Community Development, Safiye Ozuygun, Business Director of Citi Microfinance as well as Mayank Malik, Citi CCO for Jordan & Iraq were among the speakers and panelists at the 2-day conference.

Citi as the lead sponsor of this conference has a longterm commitment to working with its clients and partners to expand financial access. Today Citi serves more than 150 microfinance sector clients in nearly 50 countries by providing access to products and services that span the whole financial spectrum.