Mr. Youssef Benchekroun, General Director of al Amana Microfinance, was elected President of the Board of Directors of the Sanabel Microfinance Network for Arab Countries.

As a reminder, Sanabel was founded in 2002 with the contribution of our association and other small Microfinance institutions in the Middle East and North Africa to enhance the capacity of the microfinance sector to provide comprehensive and sustainable financial services to low-income people in Arab countries .The following objectives were identified:

• Strengthening the capacities of the sector in the Arab countries in terms of good practices, transparency and protection of the targets.

•Invitation of a supportive regulatory and practical environment for the sustainable financial integration of people excluded from traditional financial systems.

• Supporting and encouraging the establishment of national networks in Arab countries and increase the number of members involved in the countries and institutions.

As the first institution to promote financial integration in Arab countries, Sanabel currently has 90 members in 12 Arab countries and it represents about 73% of the total area in the region.

As part of the 15th Anniversary of the Network, the Annual Conference was held from 7 to 8 November 2017 in Lebanon under the theme: "Financial Inclusion in the Arab Countries: A Journey of Cooperation and Achievements".

That event was attended by more than 350 members of the key players in the microfinance sector: Politicians, financiers and investors.

This conference constituted a platform for interventions, discussions, exchange of experiences and an opportunity for networking for relevant regional and international stakeholders.

Several themes were discussed during the conference, most notably the institutional transformation of the small institutions of microfinance, leadership, product diversification, risk management, good governance and customer protection.

Our association was represented in the person of its general manager, Mr. Yousuf Benchekroun, who attended this session.