Zitouna Tamkeen (ZTM) is a microfinance institution established in 2016, operating in the field of microfinance with the aim of contributing to the financial and economic inclusion of disadvantaged populations by adopting an economic empowerment approach through Islamic finance.

As part of the review of its strategy and the development of its business plan for the period 2023-2027, Zitouna Tamkeen has entrusted a consortium, of which our firm is a member, with the mission of defining its strategic plan for the period 2023-2027.

This mission includes:

• Internal diagnosis of the company
• External diagnosis integrating both qualitative and quantitative market research, as well as a brand assessment and customer satisfaction study
• Definition of the mission, strategic axes, and project portfolio
• Definition of the target organization

Development of the business plan over a 5-year period.

In the EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap, adopted in 2020, the Bank committed to significantly increasing the share of its green portfolio. In particular, it identifies the need to increase intermediated lending for climate action as a key area to seize opportunities to support final beneficiaries that the EIB, for reasons of scale, is not in a position to provide directly, such as households and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and MidCaps. This increase in loans for climate action investments will need to be accompanied by technical assistance (TA) to build the capacity of financial intermediaries and final beneficiaries, as well as incentive grants to stimulate demand in the target sectors.

In this context, a regional study has been envisaged to support the EIB in business development activities focusing on (1) market analysis, (2) work on required financial products and operational framework/approaches, to be able to live up to the ambitions of the Climate Bank Roadmap in the Southern Neighbourhood region.

The regional study covers Jordan, Egypt and Morocco as priority countries, while Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia will also be part of the study. The study covers several sectors and thematic areas, including energy efficiency, renewable energies, climate change mitigation, investments in adaptation to climate change, etc.

To help its financial partners and their customers cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and develop their digitalisation, the European SANAD fund has set up a grant programme with 3 components:

– Grants for small businesses to purchase IT and digital equipment and services

– Cost-sharing for credit insurance and guarantee funds

– Investment grants for the digitalisation of partner institutions.

In this context, AMEF Consulting has been mandated by SANAD to support its Tunisian financial partners, a microfinance institution and 4 leasing companies, in the operational implementation of the components of this programme and in the management and monitoring of the proper use of the various subsidies.

The assignment involves supporting a Mesofinance bank in drawing up its new development strategy for the period 2021-2025.

The strategy was drawn up using a participatory approach and covered the following main topics:

• In-depth strategic diagnosis
• Vision and strategic lines of development.
• Means and resources for implementing the strategy.
• Business plan and strategy implementation programme.

In order to support the objectives of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia in terms of ecological transition, the French Development Agency (AFD) finances, with the support of the European Union (EU), the SUNREF Tunisia program which aims to promote the implementation of public policies in terms of energy transition and environmental protection by contributing to the deepening and consolidation of the emerging market for green financing at the national level.

In this context, AMEF Consulting was selected to participate in the implementation of the technical assistance program in favor of 4 Tunisian banks for the development of their green project financing activity. (Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy & environmental protection) through:

• Internal capacity building in terms of study techniques and financing of green projects (Project Finance approach)
• Internal capacity building in terms of study techniques and financing of green projects (Project Finance approach)