We are proud to share our member Islamic Corporation for the Development’s (ICD) Business Resilience Assistance for Value-adding Enterprise (BRAVE) project. ICD’s Industry and Business Environment Support (IBES) team initiated the BRAVE concept. The project was designed through joint efforts between ICD and the Small and Micro Enterprise Promotion Service (SMEPS), an NGO based in Yemen with an aim to combine value chain design principles, grant-matching scheme concepts for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and banking credit practices in an integrated framework that responds to the in-conflict challenges of the private sector. The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) provided the sponsorship. 
 

The successful roll-out of BRAVE 1 in Yemen has been a remarkable success for ICD and IsDB. The results indicated that the grants have helped recipients survive during the on-going conflict and that overall, the intervention has helped them grow their businesses. As a result, an additional USD 3 million was procured from the Deauville MENA Transition Fund for the second phase. In addition, the IBES team was able to prepare, defend and secure a multi-country USD 32 million program to replicate the BRAVE model for women-led MSMEs over a 4-5 years’ timeframe for three fragile contexts: Yemen, Nigeria and Mali. 

 
Read more about the BRAVE project here>

 
About ICD 

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is a multilateral development financial institution and is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. ICD was established in November 1999 to support the economic development of its member countries. ICD is Rated A2’ by Moody’s, ‘A’ by S&P and, A+ by Fitch. ICD establishes and strengthens cooperation and partnership relationships with an aim to establish joint or collective financing. ICD also applies financial technology (Fintech) to make financing more efficient and comprehensive.