MAIN Seminar Theme No. 2: Resources for What demands? Refinancing in Local Currency

This case study of the Arab Centre for Agricultural Development (ACAD), a non-profit organization in Jerusalem, was created to encourage the spirit of micro enterprise via the development of income generating activities amongst the poor.

The study describes the following aspects of ACED:

• Its setup, steering committee membership, headquarter;
• Procedure of receipt of loan application, and credit dispatch;
• Mission, values and vision:
  • Promoting activities to generate income and sustainable jobs in the farming sector and in the rural areas;
  • Expanding financial services to other geographic areas;
  • Enabling the poor and small rural producers to gain access to the financial markets by tipping the balance in favor of those needing credit;
  • Mobilizing rural savings.
• Growth strategy: The ACAD business plan identified two fields of activity that tie in with credit:
  • First is to provide financial services to small producers in the farming sector;
  • Second is to provide financial services to develop income generating activities by poor people in urban and rural areas.
• Types of financial products:
  • Equipment loans for small producers in the farming sector, of an average amount of US$ 10,000, with a six-month grace period;
  • Microcredit for funding the working capital of micro-holdings in the entire farming sub-sector;
  • Loans for the working capital of micro-companies in the non-farming sectors, mainly in the urban areas.
• Relations with the donors.