Portland’s work saw a Palestinian Loan Guarantee Facility launched with $230m, providing loans from $10,000 to $500,000, backed with a 70% guarantee, achieved alongside The Aspen Institute, the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC, now the DFC), and the Palestine Investment Fund. The project enabled banks to extend credit and affordable finance provision for Palestinian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Designed as a temporary 10 year intervention to address credit system bottlenecks and stimulate lending, approximately 100 loans were approved totalling $147m. The project included a technical assistance programme to help banks market financial products more successfully. The fund was managed by the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII).