MANAMA: Ebdaa Bank for Microfinance has opened a new branch in Saar, which is its fourth in the country.
Located in Delmon Gate Mall, the branch will mainly serve Saar, Budaiya and other nearby areas.
During the inauguration ceremony, Dr Khaled Al Ghazzawi, chief executive of Ebdaa Bank, said: “We want to stay close to all customers, so that we can serve them appropriately, provide them with guidance to launch and grow their microenterprises, and how to make the most of their loans. In particular, dealing with microfinance loans requires frequent visits to the bank in order to repay the loan in small instalments, and to obtain greater facilities and credit to customers who are committed to repay.”
Dr Al Ghazzawi confirmed that the new branch is part of the bank’s expansion plan in the kingdom that includes the opening of more branches in Muharraq and Sitra in the coming period.
He said: “Despite the economic challenges, we are confident in the ability of the Bahraini economy to achieve sustainable growth, and the importance of microfinance in supporting this growth through the provision of soft loans without guarantees for start-ups and increasing the contribution of these projects to GDP.”
“We have taken it upon ourselves to promote microfinance in Bahrain, especially as the kingdom took the lead in embracing the microfinance industry when it hosted the first Arab Microfinance Bank (AGFUND) in the Gulf region in 2009. Today, we see the fruits of this lead with evidence of the bank’s beneficiaries.”
The bank has been able to serve 14,000 customers over the past 10 years, which have received loans worth more than BD13 million. The number of borrowers currently stands at 2,849, who have received loans amounting to a total value of about BD3m.”
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