Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 29 April 2024 – On the sidelines of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group and the Bank’s Golden Jubilee, in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, IsDB and its poverty alleviation arm, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) organized the IsDB - ISFD NGOs Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Program” (Tadamon) Steering Committee together with development stakeholders that have committed to tackling issues around poverty.

At the event, IsDB Vice President Operations, Dr. Mansur Muhtar launched the new initiative Tadamon Qard al Hassan for Food Security Response with Nama Foundation.

Sheikh Waleed Binmahfuz, Member of Nama Foundation Board of Trustees participated in the kick off at the closing session together with potential partners that shared insights experiences and interest to join Tadamon.

In their opening remarks, Dr.  Issa Faye, Director General, Global Practices and Partnership, IsDB, and Hiba Ahmed, ISFD Director General, reaffirmed the importance of partnering with partners and CSOs to create positive change, solutions to tackling poverty, to unlock the potential of these organizations and to drive meaningful progress in our member countries.

This joint initiative led by IsDB, ISFD, NAMA Foundation, and potential partners focuses on innovative partnership to enhance the socio-economic well-being of vulnerable communities across IsDB member countries especially those affected by extreme poverty.

Dr. Mansur Muhtar also congratulated the 10 winning CSOs of the Tadamon first Grant award operating in Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia with their innovative and potential to create lasting positive change in the lives of those most in need. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the Tadamon Steering committee endorsed 9 winners of its Second call for proposal targeting  OIC member countries affected by fragility and conflict: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Iraq, Jordan, Niger, Pakistan, State of Palestine, Somalia, Yemen.

Tadamon is a program launched  during the UN General Assembly in 2019, with a large number of high-ranking officials and senior participants from various countries. It benefits from an institutional arrangement and consultation with its steering committee members. Tadamon steering committee involves strategic planning and directions around working towards solving the SDGs and is steered by the IsDB and ISFD, in collaboration with key implementing partners including United the Nations Development Program (UNDP), Al Awn Foundation, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), NAMA Foundation.

This year the overall objectives of the Tadamon steering committee closed session are to (i) bring together key stakeholders and partners to discuss the progress, address challenges, (ii) explore opportunities for future collaboration in preparation for the Tadamon second Phase 02,  (iii) award its first call 10 winners and endorse the second call for proposals; and (iv) kick off the new initiative Tadamon Qard Al Hassan for Food Security Response.

The Tadamon Program, is an integral part of the IsDB and ISFD initiatives and has become a flagship program instrumental in enhancing the livelihood of the hard-to-reach communities, empowering civil society organizations, promoting sustainable development, and fostering partnerships in member countries.

Notes to editors

About the Program

Approved by the ISFD Board, the Program aims at empowering local NGOs, and CSOs to improve the socio-economic well-being of the hard-to-reach communities through refugees’ education, job creation, building resilience and community livelihoods development. The scope of the Program includes: (i) mapping, screening and categorizing national CSOs in selected Member Countries (MCs); (ii) building capacity of selected CSOs; (iii) promoting transformative projects supporting refugees’ basic education, building resilience (job creation) and development projects; (iv) setting up sustainable innovative financing mechanisms for local CSOs; and (v) program management. 

About the Islamic Development Bank Group

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is one of the world's largest multilateral development banks that has been working for over 40 years to improve the lives of the communities that it serves by delivering impact at scale.

The Bank brings together 57-member countries across four continents touching the lives of 1 in every 5 of the world’s population.

Rated AAA by the three major rating agencies of the world, the IsDB maintains an annual volume of operations above US $10 billion and a subscribed capital of US $70 billion. With its headquarters in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Bank also runs major regional hubs in Turkey, Morocco, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Senegal, and Nigeria.

The mission of the Islamic Development Bank is to equip people to drive their own economic and social progress at scale, putting the infrastructure in place to enable them to fulfil their potential.

The IsDB builds collaborative partnerships among communities and nations, and work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by harnessing the power of science, technology and innovation and fostering ethical and sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest development challenges.

Over the years, the Islamic Development Bank has evolved from a single entity into a group (IsDB Group) comprising five entities: Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

About the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD)

Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) is the poverty alleviation arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group and was established as a special fund within the IsDB to reduce poverty in its member countries by promoting pro-poor growth, emphasizing human development, especially improvements in health care and education, and providing financial support to enhance the productive capacity and sustainable means of income for the poor. ISFD also helps in securing electric power and different services to underdeveloped rural areas.

Headquartered in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Fund was officially launched during the 32nd Annual Meeting of the IsDB Board of Governors (BOG), held on 29-30 May, 2007G in Dakar, Senegal. The Fund has been established in the form of a Waqf (i.e. Trust), with a principal target capital of US $10.00 billion.

Two overarching themes, in line with the IsDB Vision 1440H, define the focus of the ISFD: Improving and enhancing the income of the poor, and promoting the development of human capital.