In his article “Community Engagement through Banking in the Middle East” for medium.com , MEAB bank’s chairman Ali Hejeij discusses the challenges MSMEs (micro, small and medium sized enterprises) face and how the banking sector plays a vital role in confronting them. Even though the majority of enterprises in the MENA region are MSMEs, they are confronted with access to finance. One solution is to better integrate banking systems into the community. With the banking sector already playing an important role in the economies of the MENA region, banks must increase their engagement on MSME lending through various ways such as developing expertise, expanding branches, and improving business relationships. With Lebanon facing various challenges with infrastructure and a rapidly growing population, banks must become strategic investors and provide innovative funding. Mr. Ali Hejeij concludes his article by stating that MEAB bank continuously focuses on being involved in the communities and increasing focus on MSMEs.
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