Posted inBanking & Finance

Jordanian lender eyes SME market to drive loan growth ambitions

Ambitious growth plans fuelled by coronavirus-created market opportunity, says liwwa CEO

Liwwa leverages technology to offer its loans to growing businesses

Liwwa leverages technology to offer its loans to growing businesses


A Jordanian lender for small businesses is counting on the post-coronavirus SME market for growth, setting a three-year target of 10,000 signed loans, up from its current 1,000.

Dennis Ardis, liwwa’s newly appointed CEO after previously holding the COO role, said he believes the target is “abundantly achievable” given the current market dynamics.

“A lot of companies in Jordan are coming out of this very difficult period and need that level of support so we want to be here to offer it. Our understanding from our bank partners and others in the sector is that, given the environment, a lot of other financial institutions have pulled back from the market,” said Ardis.

“The SME segment has always been somehow overlooked and that dynamic is doubly true now. Most people are mitigating risks and waiting to see how things pan out but we see an opportunity there,” he added.

Liwwa, which has been operational for six years now, leverages technology to offer its loans to growing businesses.

However, Ardis said the pandemic has facilitated digital uptake among the SMEs owners themselves, an issue they had been struggling with for a while.

“We have a very compelling value proposition and we have already created a lot of proprietary technology that will enable us to grow and become more cost-efficient in doing so,” said Ardis.

“Our process today and the tools we built are designed to optimise how our team works. But I think this new dynamic is where we can start thinking a little bit more of a borrower-facing landscape which allows borrowers to fully apply online. There is much more appetite for that now and people have a lot more experience with using digital tools to get things done. So there is a huge opportunity there that we plan to capitalise on,” he added.

Dennis Ardis, liwwa’s newly appointed CEO

Liwwa serves both Jordan and Egypt and Ardis explained that going digital would be especially relevant in Egypt where the size of the country and its traffic conditions are obstacles to the outbound sales approach followed in Jordan.

The coronavirus pandemic had a dramatic effect on Jordan’s SMEs as safety restrictions in the country were severe, said Ardis.

“As restrictions have eased, one very encouraging thing is that the SME sector is uniquely resilient. These are smaller businesses with smaller cost profiles so they were able to scale down as was necessary but also re-enter the market and start working again as soon as being able to do so became possible,” he said.

“For us, the silver lining of 2020 is that it demonstrated the resiliency of our own business. We were able to bounce back and have those great ambitions for 2021, but this is really predicated on the resiliency of our clients. That is why we are optimistic that we can set such ambitious goals for this year,” he added.

Amina Ramadan, one of liwwa’s borrowers, at her organic oil-based store in downtown Amman

For the next three years, liwwa will be focused on Jordan and Egypt but could look into regional expansion after this period.

“From the research we have done, there is a lot of untapped potential here in Jordan and Egypt is a mass market. For the sake of focus and execution, I think our focus will remain on these two countries,” he explained

“Towards the end of the three-year target period, it will get very exciting to think of where we will go next. It will be somewhere in the region, with the potential of possibly adding Turkey to the list, but that is further out,” he said.

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