Our Impact
Sustainable Success
The stories and meaning behind our work is as important to us as our economic data. We maximize our impact by working with local actors to design projects that fit their needs, hiring local staff to carry out the projects, and partnering with local institutions to ensure the impact continues even after our projects end. As a result, our stories come not just from our project beneficiaries, but also from our staff and partners. Below are a select group of stories that demonstrate our impact on-the-ground.
Accounting Software for Mobile Sales
Husam owns mobile store in Gaza city, where he sells both new & used mobiles in addition to repair services and bill payment for mobile service providers’ companies. Husam started his business in 2003 and received MEII support in 2017. MEII provided him with accounting software and trained him in its proper use. After a few months of technical assistance and the provision of intern, Husam was capable to produce financial statements and measure his business profitability. In 2019 he opened another mobile store in a different location in partnership with his friend.
Husam bought on his own expense accounting software for the new store even before putting his merchandise on shelves, he needed it from the beginning, especially that he has a partner. MEII again helped with technical assistance. Husam says “While it took me 16 years to have accounting software in my first mobile store, I could not live without it one day in my new store as I appreciated its importance”.
Pharmaceutical Distribution
Jehad, a licensed pharmaceutical distributor living in Gaza, started his own company a few years ago. Jehad employs six salespeople, who are paid with fixed base salaries plus incentives according to their sales. Before MEII, Jehad used old fashion record books to record sales, which prevented him from accurately measuring the profitability and efficiency of each employee and the business as a whole. He had also never considered the operational cost of running the cars he owns to distribute his merchandise.
MEII provided Jehad with targeted technical assistance and helped him download accounting software. This enabled him to apply cost centers to calculate the profitability of each employee and to track account receivables and his business’ financial performance as a whole. According to Jehad, thanks to MEII, “now I can determine the best salesperson and incentivize good performance!”
The Jordan Valley Foundation
After nine years of working with various charities and non-profit organizations, Ms. Sereen al Sharif decided to establish her own foundation focused on the development of the Al-Shonah region of Jordan. Since the creation of the Jordan Valley Foundation in early 2017, Ms. al Sharif has developed 17 different programs to support area residents, including her productive kitchen project, rural economic development and employment project, and sewing workshop project.
MEII provided the Jordan Valley Foundation with an accounting software program, which is part of MEII Jordan’s technical assistance program that specifically targets rural and female-led businesses.
Ms. al Sharif stated that “this accounting program helped us a lot in managing all of our financial transactions. It also became easier for us to prepare financial statements for our donors.”
The Jordan Valley Foundation also applied for a loan of JOD 55,000 through MEII’s Tamweeli matchmaking platform to purchase the building Ms. al Sharif currently leases.
MEII Internship Program
A few years ago, MEII started an internship program for financial and administrative assistance at its offices in Palestine, Tunisia, Jordan, and Washington D.C. MEII’s internship program seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge gained at universities and practical real-life work experience, with the goal of providing university students with more opportunities to find a job or start their own business in an increasingly competitive environment.
Ms. Raneem joined the MEII Loan Guarantee Fund in Ramallah, Palestine during her senior year at university. During her six-month internship, she was trained by MEII portfolio specialists to evaluate business applications and financial requests. Throughout her internship, she developed an understanding of financial statements, the use of financial ratios to evaluate business capacity to expand and increase profitability, how to pay back loans from business cash flows, how to evaluate SMEs’ financial needs, how to assess the risk and creditworthiness of borrowers, and how to understand different business sectors. Ms. Raneen was immediately able to apply the knowledge she gained in her internship to real-life scenarios, adding to what she learned in the university classroom. At the end of her internship, Ms. Raneem was offered a position at FATEN, a microfinance institution, as an SME loan officer.
Ms. Raneem stated that “without my MEII internship, I would have never been able to gain such practical experience. This internship gave me an advantage over my peers to find a good job opportunity. I urge every student to pursue an internship so that they can be equipped with knowledge and experience.”
Allar Bags
Four brothers, all employed at different companies with degrees in different fields, decided to start their own business when they realized that they were not making a sustainable salary at their former jobs. The brothers decided to start a men’s clothing shop in Bethlehem, hiring an employee for the morning shift and splitting the evening shift among themselves. One of the brothers stated that “this shop is the base for a better future for our families; it’s our security and guarantee for the future, as employment is never secured in our turbulent environment”
However, the brothers quickly realized that they were losing control over their stock and their expenses. They needed to find a more efficient way to manage their financials. Fortunately, MEII introduced them to technical assistance program . With the right training and financial software, they were able to properly manage their business and make advancements to produce further growth.
“Thanks to MEII, we can manage our stock and decide which brands and designs are better sold than others, and, as a result, make better decisions for the next orders. Now we can make better pricing and generate more accurate reports that show exactly what we made and what we spent. We have even been able to include our overhead expenses such as rent, electricity etc.. to get accurate figures of our net profit.”
Al Iman
Mrs. Tamam has over 30 years of experience in sewing and dressmaking. She used to have a workshop in her family house in the refugee camp near Ramallah, however, she was forced to move to a new location, losing her business in the process. After lengthy period of searching for a new workshop, she finally found one, but unfortunately she needs finance to start her business from scratch. This included purchases of sewing machines and workshop building maintenance. Mrs. Tamam faced difficulty in getting the financing due to her age and collateral requirements. Tamweeli was the solution.
“I was going to give up after all the refusals I was getting from several FI’s but Tamweeli saved me. Thank you Tamweeli for helping me and special thanks to your great team.”
Mrs. Tamam now has a workshop with around 20 machines. Two employees working with her and intends on expanding her workshop to hire 4 more, not only Tamweeli helped Mrs. Tamam to maintain the only source of income for her family but also created six more jobs.
Clothing Shop in Bethlehem
After nine years of working with various charities and non-profit organizations, Ms. Sereen al Sharif decided to establish her own foundation focused on the development of the Al-Shonah region of Jordan. Since the creation of the Jordan Valley Foundation in early 2017, Ms. al Sharif has developed 17 different programs to support area residents, including her productive kitchen project, rural economic development and employment project, and sewing workshop project.
MEII provided the Jordan Valley Foundation with an accounting software program, which is part of MEII Jordan’s technical assistance program that specifically targets rural and female-led businesses.
Ms. al Sharif stated that “this accounting program helped us a lot in managing all of our financial transactions. It also became easier for us to prepare financial statements for our donors.”
The Jordan Valley Foundation also applied for a loan of JOD 55,000 through MEII’s Tamweeli matchmaking platform to purchase the building Ms. al Sharif currently leases.
Female-Owned Private School in the West Bank
MEII’s provided an entrepreneurial Palestinian woman with a loan guarantee and technical assistance, allowing her to ambitiously expand a private school of her own.
The woman’s personal experience, in which she was unable to finish her own education until after 10 years of marriage and raising three children, coupled with her desire to provide high quality, affordable education in her West Bank village, led her to open her own school in September 2012. In 2014, MEII initially guaranteed her loan of $200,000 from a Palestinian bank and later agreed to increase the size of the loan to $323,000. MEII also provided technical assistance, increasing her financial management skills and business confidence.
With MEII’s help, the woman was able to expand her land ownership from 500 to 5000 square meters to build a new and improved school, which opened in 2015. Her school has 300 students, 18 female staff members (out of 23 total), and five administrators. Her school teaches advanced curriculum in English and extracurricular activities. She is also planning on opening a summer camp beginning in the summer of 2018. The woman’s school provides children with the opportunities she didn’t enjoy when she was young, delivering affordable, accessible, and high-quality education to her village. Congratulations and thank you for helping further access to education in the West Bank!
Female-Owned Optical Center
*Due to moral hazard reasons, we have used pseudonyms in place of the entrepreneurs' actual names.
Tala, a young female entrepreneur with a bachelor’s degree in optics and vision science, worked in a health center as an optician after completing her studies. Following that experience she partnered with a friend, Yasmin, to open an optical and vision center in their city.
Kindergarten
This Kindergarten was founded 10 years ago by a dedicated and passionate educator who successfully built a wonderful reputation among parents, but who struggled with her financial performance.
MEII provided technical assistance and developed her booking and accounting system so that this ambitious entrepreneur could focus more on educating her 600 children instead of struggling with her back of the envelop financial system.
West Bank Strawberry Farm
Mohammed and his two brothers own and work in a strawberry farm green house in a village near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. They invested in a new method of planting strawberries in hanging pots, instead of soil, which dramatically increases production yield. However, without an accounting system, they struggled with their finances and financial performance.
Palestinan Pharmacy
Suzanne, a pharmacist living in a village near Ramallah, is an ambitious and active entrepreneur. She is not only the founder and owner of two local pharmacies, but has become a beloved public figure within her local community and a role model for all the young girls in her village.
MEII helped her learn the skills she needed to record, track, and understand her financial transactions and develop new financial statements. The accounting software also allowed her to track stock quantity and manage the expiration of pharmaceutical products in her business.