By Gabriel Harrison.
Tunis, 4 August 2017:
French government technical expertise organisation Expertise France is planning to set up a microfinance system in Libya backed by local partners. The purpose is to provide finance to Libyans who do not have access to traditional forms of loans.
A workshop on finance for Libyan SMEs (small and medium enterprises) organised in Tunis today by EU-backed SLEIDSE (“Support to Libya for Economic Integration, Diversification and Sustainable Employment”), itself operated by Expertise France, was told that the aim is to help 2,000 new enterprises within the first three years, in particular those set up by women and young people.
The project is being advised by French microfinance organisation ADIE, founded in 1989 and which has since set up affiliates in Tunisia, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg and Kosovo.
A spokesperson for ADIE said the loans would not exceed LD between LD 2,000 to LD 7,500 per entrepreneur in the first year, rising to a maximum of LD 25,000 by year three if the project was proving successful. No interest would be levied, although a commission of 15 percent would be charged by the operators to cover their services. They would purchase goods on behalf of the entrepreneur.
According to ADIE, LD 7.5 million would have to be raised for the Libya project: LD 5.3 million for the disbursements over the three years and LD 2.2 million to cover costs.
Three microfinance centres would be set up, the first in Tripoli, a second in the east of the country and the third in the south.
In addition, France Expertise and its Libyan partners (which have still to be found) would provide clients access to business counselling and training free of charge, but would need to find microfinance technicians to teach clients how to effectively run a business within the context of the Libyan setting.
After the first year, ADIE hopes that a million dinars in loans will have been provided to 225 people. By the end of the second year, it expect to see a sharp rise, with 1,000 entrepreneurs being helped with loans, and by the end of the third year 1,400 people with loans totalling LD 5 million.
