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Work has begun on the Expanded and Sustained Access to Financial Services (ESAF) project which was recently awarded to WDI and its partners by USAID.

 

The goal of the program is to build a more inclusive financial sector in the West Bank Territories by increasing sustainable access to financial services for households and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. WDI’s role in this three-year $23million project is in enhancing the enabling and regulatory environment through university training, strengthening a training institution for microfinance bankers, and providing technical assistance to the central bank and the regulatory body for the securities industry.

 

During the program inception stage, which focused on diagnosis assessments and work plan definition, WDI was able to pinpoint where the weaknesses and potential for growth lay in each institution and how to address them. As a result, the areas of WDI’s technical assistance – and its budget - were expanded significantly.

 

“Post-conflict economic growth and policy reform have been two of the long-standing core competencies of DCS,” said Khalid Al-Naif, DCS director. “We have the technical capacity, political sensitivity, and flexibility needed to facilitate changes on the ground.”

 

The five subprograms are:

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Specialized education and the realignment of regulatory institutions’ services to meet the demands of SMEs and households will be a resource as the West Bank moves toward financial mobility and economic growth,” said DCS’ Ayako Ariga, ESAF’s project administrator.