Koret Israel Economic Development Funds

Launched in 1994, KIEDF provides non-bank loan financing to marginalized communities in Israel that that could not otherwise qualify for bank financing. Like many western banking systems, the financial services sector is Israel is highly concentrated with limited reach into more vulnerable populations. KIEDF, along with the OGEN Group, has been one of the few community development finance organizations operating in Israel. KIEDF is best known for its SAWA (“together” in Arabic) program, a micro-lending initiative for Arab-Israeli women entrepreneurs. With Israeli government support, this lending model has grown over the years providing a total of 11,000 loans and ~$24M to women entrepreneurs. KIEDF has also championed programs for Ethiopian immigrants to Israel, another historically underserved segment of the population. Recognizing the deep economic impact of covid on many small, Arab-Israeli owned businesses, KIEDF moved quickly to launch a new program to support the recovery of these enterprises. The Israeli Ministry of the Economy provided a $2M loan on favorable terms for 50% of the debt capital if matching funds were identified. We provided a $1M loan to KIEDF to help unlock the government capital for the program.