Together with PlaNet Finance Portland provided €550,000 in capacity building for the Palestinian microfinance sector, complemented by a €750,000 grant from the European Union. The project provided training and technical assistance to microfinance institutions, improved access to business development services for microentrepreneurs, and re-established the Palestinian Union for Small and Microfinance Institutions (Sharaka). In its 3 years of operation 70,000 people were provided with microfinance; Sharaka was successfully re-established, and The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) became the official regulatory body for the sector.