Loan funds are The Jewish Agency’s grassroots economic development engines for entrepreneurs and small business owners in Jerusalem, the Negev, and Galilee. In most cases, Jewish communities worldwide support Loan Funds to encourage economic development in their Partnership2Gether regions. The Loan Funds also support Israeli entrepreneurs from target populations such as new immigrants, the Arab population, the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population, and the Ethiopian community.
Loan Funds provide technical assistance and guarantees to applicants to help them qualify for bank loans, which are granted at special terms, and enjoy exceptional pay-back rates. Each year we approve the applications of dozens of businesses, enabling loans totaling millions of dollars. From the time they were founded in 2002, the loan funds have assisted more than 2,000 businesses with loans totaling more than $100 million, and have led to the creation of about 10,000 new jobs.