Dr. Mamoun Abu Shahla, Minister of Labor, Chairman of PFESP, announced the launch of the second phase of "Start Up Palestine" project. It amounts to about ten million dollars. It is in cooperation with the "Italian Agency for Development Cooperation - Jerusalem Office" and the Ministry of Finance and Planning. Abu Shahla said that the coming stage will witness PFESP’s implementation of several large and qualitative development lending projects in cooperation with local banks. Pursuant to the resolution of the government's strategy to recruit half a billion dollars to inject it in a form of concessional loans to graduates and unemployed. Abu Shahla explained that PFESP is about to sign a major agreement with fifty million dollars with the Bank of Palestine, with guarantees of the Ministry of Finance in the consensus government. This is to grant thousands of concessional loans to graduates and unemployed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Abu Shahla stressed that PFESP works at all levels in order to recruit funds to face the crises of unemployment and poverty through the implementation of development projects and employment. Abu Shahla also thanked the Italian government, which provided "loans" to achieve the project through which "PFESP" aspires to support entrepreneurs from socially and economically marginalized groups. This is to provide a high level of financial and business services, and to alleviate the suffering of our people and reduce unemployment and poverty. Especially as the “Project” also includes providing many business services to direct beneficiaries to help them develop and expand their business. This is in coordination and integration with “Partners;” in order to motivate them to develop and succeed their vital projects that ensure the creation of sustainable job opportunities.

Abu Shahla called on all specialized "lending companies" implementing the project to create innovative ideas. This is to maximize the benefit of the targeted groups in need of this support and encourage them to invest and create self-sustainable and job opportunities.

For her part, Ms. Ibtisam Al-Hosari, Executive Director of PFESP, explained that the "Start Up Palestine" project, which started its first phase at the beginning of 2014, is a joint initiative through a loan provided by the "Italian Agency" in the amount of 20 million euros. It comes to enhance access and credit opportunities for medium, micro and micro-companies within the framework of Palestinian law. It stipulated that these companies must be Palestinian and operating in the "lending sector" and had licenses from the Monetary Authority. They are: Reef, ACAD, Asala, Faten, Vitas, and Alibdaa. Agreements were signed with "Reef", "Faten" and " Alibdaa", while the signing of agreements with other institutions will be completed within the coming period. She indicated that the total value of the second phase of the project is approximately $10 million. It is a provision for the second phase in addition to the refunded payments from the first-stage loans. They were distributed to these companies according to a set of criteria, including development of youth segment, Gaza Strip, camps, and the productive sectors, especially agricultural.

In turn, Cristina Natoli, representative of Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in Palestine - Jerusalem office, expressed her satisfaction with the progress of the implementation of the first phase of the "project" by "PFESP" and the "local lending institutions." It is estimated at seven million euros. She notes that after follow-up, it turns out that borrowers benefited from these loans in establishing projects, or expanding and developing existing ones. She indicated that during the first four months of the "first phase", the equivalent of one thousand loans were disbursed, and thus about a thousand projects were established or developed. Natoli considered that "Palestine" is a good ground for implementing small projects and other projects despite the existence of some obstacles. The most prominent of which is the lack of guarantees, guarantors and the ability to access loans. Especially, there are a lot of creative ideas and entrepreneurial projects in the possession of creative youth, but they lack of funding for absence of guarantees and guarantors. Natoli said that the interest rate on the "Start Up Palestine" project loan is acceptable and did not constitute an obstacle to the borrower at all. The biggest obstacle of these projects, that limits their chances of obtaining financing, is the inability of their owners to provide the requirements of the lending institutions from guarantees and guarantors to obtain financing. Natoli explained that the available data indicates that Palestinian lending institutions are more efficient than the regional and global average, but productivity indicators suggest that there is still room for improvement. Natoli said that the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation - Jerusalem office puts a number of key "recommendations" directed to policymakers and donors in Palestine. This is to develop the "lending sector" in the first policy brief "Financing Small Projects in Palestine, Are loans so expensive? Should interest rates be determined?" Issued by the Italian Agency's Department of Economic Development. It includes increasing customer protection and price transparency, by moving this entire industry towards using "Declining" interest rates and announcing them more broadly rather than the "Fixed" interest methodology. In addition to designing tools for sharing information, such as "Online platforms" that make it possible to compare the different microfinance products offered by local lending institutions.