In supporting MSME development, the SANAD Fund for MSME follows these key imperatives:

• Maintain and create employment, especially for youth and women entrepreneurship
• Reduce poverty by facilitating self-employment
• Address the shortage of medium, long-term, and local currency financing

SANAD also aims to:

• Strengthen financial intermediaries and encourage them to enhance their MSME lending
• Build inclusive financial systems by cooperating with banks, microfinance providers, and other institutions to open access to financial services and to foster responsible finance principles
• Promote financial innovation and technology as tools to enhance efficiency, extend outreach, and expand financial inclusion

• Promotion of good governance, integrity, and transparency standards
• Adoption of local and international environmental and social standards
• Adherence to principles of responsible finance

• Strategic orientation toward micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and segments of society with limited access to affordable housing or agricultural finance
• Shared commitment to outreach, regional diversification, social impact, and financial innovation

• Solid financial track record and strong performance against KPIs and key ratios
• Qualified management and sound internal systems and processes, e.g., risk management policies, management information systems, and internal controls

• Creation of employment and economic development by financing MSMEs in target countries alleviates migration pressure and generates high impact
• Unique combination of variety of financing instruments under one umbrella: debt and equity supported by multi-faceted technical assistance facility (support for partner institutions, sector and regulatory bodies)
• Excellent track record in risk assessment and on-the-ground experience in volatile operating environment
• Financing through local currency facilities contributes to responsible finance
• Development of entrepreneurship ecosystem and adding to innovation agenda
• Attraction of private capital through public funding and risk/return balanced share class structure

In addition, because SANAD is dedicated to impactful, long-term engagement with the market, the fund plays an instrumental role in forming leading greenfield ventures that address the needs of the underserved “missing middle” and help build inclusive systems throughout the region.

SANAD partners with a broad spectrum of financial intermediaries that provide our target groups with access to finance. These include microfinance institutions (MFIs), commercial banks, leasing companies, and other financial service providers that meet these key criteria: