Middle East and North Africa

Showcase 1

Tunisian American Enterprise Fund (TAEF) Evaluation:  Millennium Partners in association with Banyan Global conducted an evaluation of the Tunisia Enterprise Fund for USAID

Millennium Partners conducted a four month evaluation that rigorously examined the processes, governance and operational structures that have been established to date under the TAEF-USAID Grant Agreement. This evaluation provides an understanding of the effectiveness of USAID’s TAEF Fund to support small and medium enterprise (SME) development in Tunisia, and lays the groundwork for future evaluations.

Showcase 2

Iraq Provincial Economic Growth (TIJARA)

Millennium Partners Member, Millennium International Consulting, is a subcontractor to the Louis Berger Group. Millennium has a four-year (April 2008-March 2012) $4.2 mn subcontract with Louis Berger. Tijara, which means prosperity in Arabic, is providing support for the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in the 18 governorates of Iraq.  There are two main activities of Tijara. First, Tijara provides advice and training support for SME development to Business Development Centers across Iraq. These are closely linked to US military and civilian Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) across Iraq. The second major TIjara activity focuses on providing advice and financial support for micro and small and medium credits through a number of Iraqi banks. Millennium has taken the lead in the SME banking component working with the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees and its member banks to provide SME credit through a system of loan guarantees and the Iraqi Company for Financing SMEs, a non-bank financial institution that provides direct lending to SMEs.  Millennium   provides monitoring and evaluation of the entire project. Tijara also provides support to the Government of Iraq for World Trade Organization accession.