US supports microenterprises in Tunisia with $35m loans

The US Embassy in Tunisia yesterday announced that America has launched a loan programme worth $35 million to support small enterprises in Tunisia.

Implemented through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), in partnership with the Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB), the programme was launched after ceremony in the presence of Donald Bloom, the US ambassador to Tunisia, and Ahmed Rjiba, director general of the Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB).

The embassy confirmed that this partnership “will enable the expansion and acceleration of commercial lending to small and medium enterprises,” adding that it “reflects the US government’s desire to support Tunisia by mobilization of private capital resources for the success of small enterprises and to demonstrates its commitment to support the growth and success of the Tunisian private sector.”

The embassy quoted Bloom’s confirmation that the partnership “will facilitate granting loans worth $35 million from the Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB), for the benefit of microenterprises across the country at a time when Tunisia is facing a deteriorating economic situation.”

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