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On the Demand for Financial Services by Micro and Small Enterprises

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On the Demand for Financial Services by Micro and Small Enterprises LEBANON : A DIAGNOSTIC STUDY ON THE DEMAND FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES BY MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES Final Report July 2008 © 2008 The International Finance Corporation / The World Bank Group 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-3800 Fax 202-974-4384 www.ifc.org All rights reserved. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the International Finance Corporation, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), or the governments they represent. In addition, the International Finance Corporation does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the International Finance Corporation concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The International Finance Corporation encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly. LEBANON : A DIAGNOSTIC STUDY ON THE DEMAND FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES BY MICRO AND SMALL ENTREPRENEURS Final Report July 2008 A co-publication of the International Finance Corporation and Grameen- Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Limited. CONTENTS Acknowledgements...........................................................................................vii Abbreviations and Exchange Rate ..................................................................viii Executive Summary............................................................................................x Background..........................................................................................................................x Formal Financial Sector....................................................................................................xi Informal Financial Sector................................................................................................xii Knowledge and Perception of Loans among MSEs ..................................................xiii Key Findings ....................................................................................................................xiii Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Country Background..........................................................................................................1 Organization of the Report...............................................................................................2 1 The Formal Financial Sector...........................................................................4 Commercial Banking Sector..............................................................................................5 Initiatives to Increase SME Financing.............................................................................8 Microfinance and the Formal Financial Sector............................................................11 2 The Informal Financial Sector...................................................................... 16 Al Qard al Hassan Association.......................................................................................17 Access to Microfinance and Enhanced Enterprise Niches........................................18 Al Majmoua.......................................................................................................................19 Association d’Aide au Développement Rural ..............................................................21 Association d’Entraide Professionelle...........................................................................22 Al-Tamkeen.......................................................................................................................24 Hariri Foundation.............................................................................................................24 Makhzoumi Foundation..................................................................................................24 United Nations Relief and Works Agency....................................................................25 3 Demand Study...............................................................................................26 Methodology .....................................................................................................................27 Socioeconomic Characteristics .......................................................................................28 Client and Supplier Relations..........................................................................................30 Financial Performance and Perspectives.......................................................................31 Future Perspectives, Constraints, and Investments.....................................................34 Use of Formal and Informal Financial Services...........................................................37 Future Loan Demand ......................................................................................................44 Estimated Demand versus Current Supply of Finance ..............................................47 4 Key Findings ................................................................................................. 51 Annex 1: Results Demand Study ......................................................................52 Annex 2: Persons Consulted ........................................................................... 126 Annex 3: Banks in Lebanon............................................................................ 128 Boxes Box 1. Summary of the MSE Market Demand Survey ...................................................26 Figures Figure 1. Age of Lebanese entrepreneurs..........................................................................28 Figure 2. Seasonality of yearly turnover.............................................................................31 Figure 3. Type of investment made in last two years ......................................................35 Figure 4. Type of investment planned ...............................................................................36 Figure 5. Type of regular MSE savings..............................................................................39 Figure 6. Purpose of future loans .......................................................................................46 Tables Table 1. Demographic profile of Lebanon..........................................................................1 Table 2. Banking and financial system structure in Lebanon...........................................6 Table 3. Consolidated balance sheet of commercial banks in Lebanon .........................7 Table 4. Sector distribution of utilized credits in the financial sector (LL millions).....8 Table 5. Types of Kafalat loan guarantees ........................................................................10 Table 6. MSME approach of major Lebanese banks.......................................................11 Table 7. Effective interest rates on individual loan of $3,000 with a 12-month maturity, various Lebanese MFIs, 2007 ...........................................17 Table 8. Lebanese MSE sample by region and sector .....................................................29 Table 9. MSE legal status.....................................................................................................29 Table 10. Reductions/interest rate penalties on supplier payments..............................31 Table 11. Yearly turnover of MSEs....................................................................................32 Table 12. Weighted MSE profit margins...........................................................................34 Table 13. Type of investment made in last two years, by sector....................................35 Table 14. Constraints preventing MSE business growth ................................................37 Table 15. Bank services used by MSEs surveyed .............................................................38 Table 16. Amount of yearly MSE saving..........................................................................39 Table 17. MSE awareness of different types of loans......................................................40 Table 18. Most important difficulties in obtaining a loan from a commercial bank ..................................................................................................41 Table 19. Reasons for never applying for a loan..............................................................41 Table 20. Loan amounts from formal institutions...........................................................42 Table 21. Interest rate on formal loans..............................................................................43 Table 22. Amounts of informal loans ................................................................................44 Table 23. Reasons for not obtaining a loan in the future................................................45 Table 24. Loan amount desired, given possibility of future loan...................................45 Table 25. Potential collateral for a future loan..................................................................47
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