Introduction

In a pioneering effort to bridge the gap between individuals, the private sector and social development in the MENA region, Dubai-based microfinance funding platform, Pi Slice enables individuals and companies to lend to MENA-based MFIs. In partnership with MicroWorld.org, a subsidiary of the PlaNet Finance Group, Pi Slice offers a strategic choice for individuals and corporations to sustainably direct their socially responsible initiatives.

Driven by social impact, Pi Slice empowers micro-entrepreneurs, who are otherwise excluded from access to credit by formal banking institutions, to start and grow businesses, engage in income-generating activities, and thereby transform their own lives as well as those of others by becoming job creators rather than job seekers.

By giving a small online loan, a lender can provide aspiring micro-entrepreneurs with a life-altering opportunity to overcome poverty, enter the formal economy, and proliferate available employment opportunities, thus accelerating development. This would not only enable microfinance institutions (MFIs) to build a sustainable future for the industry, but also help shape the region’s future economies, communities, and competitiveness.

The context in a 1st e-MENA model is that the MENA region is home to approximately 370 million inhabitants of which at least 26 percent are estimated to be living on less than USD $2 / day. Half of the region’s population have to make ends meet with an income which barely covers their basic needs. To manage their unpredictable situation, they need access to funds and financial tools that traditional banks aren’t willing to provide, especially considering the fact that the supply of microfinance services in the region is modest, at best. It is estimated that there are approx. 6 million households eligible for a microfinance loan and that there is a gap of approx. 3 million potential microfinance customers for a total of nearly $3.5 billion in GLP.