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Enda: Microcredits for the Economic Inclusion of Women in Tunisia

On the Ground

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Financé par Enda, Halim School prend en charge l'éducation des enfants autistes © Oriane Zerah / AFD

A forerunner of microfinance in Tunisia, the NGO Enda has demonstrated for almost 30 years that microcredits are a powerful tool for poverty reduction and economic development. Promoting female entrepreneurship is also at the heart of its mission.

Founded in 1990, Enda Inter-Arabe started its work by backing ecological and development projects. In 1995, the NGO introduced microcredits as a way to reach people who were excluded from traditional financing methods. In 2015, after benefiting nearly 500,000 people, Enda has diversified the ways in which it supports entrepreneurship.

A leading institution 

Over the years, Enda, supported by AFD's private sector subsidiary Proparco, has become a leading institution in Tunisia and the Arab world. Today, the two organizations provide a tailor-made offer that contributes to financially empowering marginalized people, especially women.

Enda also offers free non-financial services (coaching, training, awareness-raising workshops, etc.) while continuing its microcredit activity for entrepreneurs.

"60% of our borrowers are women," said Essma Ben Hamida, Founder and President of Enda Inter-Arabe and a member of Enda Tamweel's board of directors. “We believe in giving priority to women because we have seen the positive impact of microcredits on them: they blossom, they reclaim power that has been taken away from them for centuries, they gain self-confidence, and they assert their leadership.”