Credit guarantee schemes have emerged as a key tool utilised by governments and development institutions to overcome challenges faced by MSMEs in accessing credit including; high cost, limited supply, and collateral requirements. Thus, making MSME financing more available and affordable. Little is known about their existence among MSMEs in the region.

The workshop introduced credit guarantee schemes to the INVESTMED beneficiaries and brought together 4 experts from the region:

• Dr. Mais Sha'ban, Assistant Professor of Banking and Finance at Al-Zaytoonah at the University of Jordan, and Research Fellow at the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association
• Tahar Ben Hatira, Managing Director, Sotugar, the credit guarantee company in Tunisia
• Nagla Bahr, Managing Director, Credit Guarantee Company Egypt and Chairwoman of the Euro-Mediterranean Guarantee Network
• Yolla Serieddine, Deputy General Manager at Kafalat S.A.L

This workshop was moderated by Jost Wagner, a qualified moderator and facilitator and CEO of the Change Initiative. He was supported by Kirsty Fairhurst and Christine de Visser at EMEA. The workshop was organised by project partner, the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association.