Category Archives: Finance

Green SMEs in Middle East: Obstacles and Challenges

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With ‘green’ being the buzzword across all industries, greening of the business sector and development of green skills has assumed greater importance all over the world, and Middle East is no exception. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in eco-design, green architecture, renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainability are spearheading the transition to green economy across a wide range of industries. Green SME sector in the Middle East has been growing steadily, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated. Regulations One of the major obstacles in the progress of green SMEs in the Middle East the has been poorly-designed regulation. According … Continue reading →

Green Finance in the Middle East

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Green finance is among the most important enablers that would boost innovation and increase the adoption of green solutions and practices across different industrial sectors. Green finance, which has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, provides public well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and improving ecological integrity. Middle East is making good progress towards green growth and low-carbon economy. “The latest regional trends highlight the need for green financing mechanisms to support transition to green economy”, said Ruba Al-Zu’bi, a well-known sustainability expert. “While green may be the obvious feasible and sustainable approach, access to finance makes … Continue reading →

How To Trade Sustainable Instruments Online

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Many people assume that sustainability and online trading doesn’t go well together, but where are here to prove the opposite. In fact, we would argue that online trading is the best type of financial investment for people that encourage sustainability and in this post, we’ll explain why that is. What is Online Trading? In this guide, we refer to online trading as trading done using online brokers, also known as CFD trading. These brokers provide traders access to trading platforms where you can trade everything from stocks and commodities to cryptocurrencies and forex. Now, unlike a traditional stockbroker, for example, … Continue reading →

Renewable Energy Investment in Jordan

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Jordan has tremendous wind, solar and biomass energy potential which can only be realized by large-scale investments. In 2007, the Government of Jordan developed an integrated and comprehensive Energy Master Plan. Renewable energy accounted for only 1% of the energy consumption in Jordan in 2007. However, ambitious targets have been set in the Master Plan to raise the share to 7% in 2015 and 10% in 2020. This transition from conventional fuels to renewable energy resources will require capital investments, technology transfer and human resources development, through a package of investments estimated at US $ 1.4 – 2.2 billion. The … Continue reading →

Women Entrepreneurship in MENA: An Analysis

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Women entrepreneurship is an important unexploited source of economic growth in almost all parts of the world. Unfortunately women in MENA have the lowest rates of Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) at merely 4% of the population. The highest rates, globally, are in sub-Saharan Africa, at 27%. Latin American and Caribbean economies also show high levels (15 percent). In just seven economies (Panama, Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, Nigeria, Mexico, and Uganda), women had equal or slightly higher levels of entrepreneurship than men. For the rest, women represented a smaller share of the entrepreneur population. Current Situation The recent interest in women entrepreneurship in the Middle … Continue reading →

Avoiding Common Debt Traps

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Common sense tells us it’s better to be debt-free than to incur debt. However, if you’re going to have a comfortable life — and have yet to obtain an immense personal fortune — some debt is generally unavoidable. After all, few people are in a position to purchase a home, or a car or pay for a college education outright. However, there are right ways to go about taking on these debts and wrong ways. In far too many cases, people who recognize we need those things willingly engage in deception to take unfair advantage of us. With this mind, … Continue reading →

Credit Cards For Bad Credit – Why Everybody Needs to Get One

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If уоu аrе оnе оf thоѕе реорlе whо саnnоt tаkе a brеаk wіth gооd credit ratings аnd аrе wіllіng tо restore аn оbѕсurеd ѕtаtе, thеn bad credit cards аrе rіght fоr уоu. Thеѕе аrе ѕресіаllу designed cards thаt tаrgеt реорlе tо help thеm overcome thе сhаllеngеѕ оf bаd сrеdіt. Thе fаѕtеr уоu focus оn hоw tо rеvеrѕе thе ѕіtuаtіоn; It wоuld bе easier tо build thаt impressive сrеdіt аnd start getting gооd credit ѕсоrе ratings. It іѕ vеrу easy tо gеt thеѕе best credit cards for no credit thаt mоѕt mаjоr соmраnіеѕ аrе introducing nеw орtіоnѕ tо аѕѕіѕt wіth negative … Continue reading →

Talking Green in Jordan

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The global financial recession triggered serious debate among many countries in revealing the causes behind failures and in innovating affordable solutions. Seeking “transformational” economic growth is very fashionable nowadays bringing to the front-line clean energy and green investments as keys for a better future. And for those countries at the heart of change in the Arab World, the famous “Spring” is bringing a different flavor to the aspired change and reform. In Jordan, attention to sustainability (whether environmental or social) is a need as well as a strategic choice. For a country with very limited natural resources and increasingly growing … Continue reading →

African Development Bank and Renewable Energy

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Africa has huge renewable energy potential with some of the world’s largest concentration of alternative energy resources in the form of solar, wind, hydro, and energy. Overall, 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are in the top-33 countries worldwide with combined reserves of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy far exceeding annual consumption. Most of the sub-Saharan countries receive solar radiation in the range of 6-8 kWh/m2/day, which counts among the highest amounts of solar radiation in the world. Until now, only a small fraction of Africa’s vast renewable energy potential has been tapped.  The renewable energy resources have the potential … Continue reading →

Financing Solar Panels: Are Solar Panels Financially Feasible For You?

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Solar panels are taking off and that’s the cold, hard truth. In recent years, the residential solar energy market has seen incredible growth. While the particular business segment still has a long way to go, figures don’t lie and the foreseeable future all point to the technology’s development. But if you haven’t joined the bandwagon just yet, you may be asking yourself if the homeowners who’ve already done it are worth emulating.  Is it even feasible, to begin with? Hearing “well that really depends” as a response can be off-putting, so this article aims to thoroughly discuss the financial factors … Continue reading →

العوائق والتحديات التي تواجه المؤسسات الصغيرة ومتوسطة الحجم العاملة في القطاعات الخضراء

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مع انطلاق كلمة “البيئة” ككلمة رنانة على مستوى جميع الصناعات والقطاعات، فان اتساع مجال التحول الأخضر في قطاع الأعمال وتطوير مهارات العاملين فيه أصبح ذا أهمية على مستوى العالم، والشرق الاوسط ليس بمنأى عن هذا التطور. إن المؤسسات الصغيرة ومتوسطة الحجم التي تعمل في قطاع التصميم البيئي ، العمارة الخضراء، الطاقة المتجددة وكفاءة استخدام الطاقة، والاستدامة بشكل عام كلها تعمل على توجيه الدفة نحو نحو التحول إلى الاقتصاد الأخضر في شتى القطاعات. إن قطاع المؤسسات الصغيرة والمتوسطة الحجم العاملة في المجال البيئي في الشرق الأوسط ينمو بشكل مطرد وإن كان بسرعة أقل من المتوقع. الإطار التنظيمي ان من أكبر العقبات … Continue reading →

Green Finance: Powering Sustainable Tomorrow

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Green finance provides linkage between the financial industry, protection of the environment and economic growth. Simply speaking, green finance refers to use of financial products and services, such as loans, insurance, stocks, private equity and bonds in green (or eco-friendly) projects. Green finance, which has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, provides public well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and improving ecological integrity. For example, global interest in green energy finance is increasing at a rapid pace – in 2015, investments in green energy reached an all-time high figure of US$ 348.5 billion, which underscores the significance … Continue reading →