Financing Palestinian MSMEs to sustain jobs

SANAD’s approach combines financing with capacity building for financial institutions, equipping them to operate under crisis conditions. Through targeted technical assistance and grants, SANAD supports digitalisation, IT infrastructure upgrades, and cybersecurity enhancements, enabling institutions to maintain service continuity, protect client data, and operate remotely where physical access is restricted.  

This approach enables financial institutions to expand outreach through digital channels and alternative service models, including remote operations and enhanced digital platforms, helping them reach clients in areas affected by mobility constraints. By reinforcing institutional capacity during crisis, SANAD ensures that financial institutions can continue to support MSMEs, safeguard livelihoods, and contribute to economic stability even in highly volatile environments.

With a focus on agriculture and other productive sectors, SANAD’s investments are grounded in local needs while promoting resilient employment. In a context as complex as the Palestinian Territories, this long-term, partnership-driven approach is essential, not only to respond to immediate challenges, but to help stabilize and strengthen the broader economy over time. 

The impact of this approach becomes particularly clear when looking at individual partnerships. One such example is SANAD’s collaboration with Palestine Ijara, which highlights how targeted financing and advisory support can translate into real economic outcomes. SANAD was the first international financial institution to invest in Ijara, its first Islamic leasing partner, and has committed over USD 10 million since 2019, expanding access to leasing finance for MSMEs across the West Bank.

Through Ijara, businesses ranging from medical practitioners to manufacturers have accessed financing for essential equipment, production lines, and fleet solutions, turning investment into operational capacity and job creation. A clear example is the Genome Laboratory Center in Ramallah, where SANAD-backed financing enabled the lease of advanced genetic analysis equipment previously unavailable locally. This expanded services, strengthened diagnostics, and built local expertise.

Looking ahead, the partnership continues to evolve. In 2026, SANAD plans to support Ijara through Advisory & Capacity Building services to help modernize its systems, enhancing system reliability and transitioning to an integrated digital platform. This will improve efficiency, data accuracy, and reporting, while strengthening resilience, reducing risk, and enabling more effective support to MSMEs in a challenging environment.