Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) intiated a market study in islamic countries on behalf of Yemen Microfinance Network (YMN) in Yemen.

This study has begun in Yemen's capital Sanaa, including Taiz, Adan and Almoukla. Then Islamic microfinance products have been examinated and make possible now the creation of new products in line with the existing ones.

Islamic Microfinance is a sector with a great potential to expand. It is estimated that 72% of the population living in predominantly Muslim countries do not use financial services, because they do not follow the precepts of Islam. Muslims use conventional financial products, but various surveys show that if they had the choice they would use sharia-compliance financial products.

In the Middle East, youth unemployment stays on the rise. For instance in Egypt, 90% of unemployed people in the country is below thirty years old. If social entrepreneurship is encouraged and there is a growth of small businesses, there will definitely be acceleration in the economic growth and there will be more jobs created. Global Communities which was previously known as CHF international, is the largest global microfinance network which is giving a great helping hand in the Middle East.