CSR News Title Citi Foundation Marks a Decade of Support in Jordan with Grants Exceeding $1.2 Million Detailed Content Amman, Jordan – The Citi Foundation, Citi's philanthropic arm, recently extended five new grants to the King Abullah II Fund for Development, Injaz, (a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide), FINCA, Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development and Al-Aman Fund for the Future of Orphans. The grants are in the form of financial aid and micro-finance support benefiting more than 150 Jordanian youths. This latest series of grants marks a decade of support for social and economic development programs in Jordan by Citi. The social investment grants total exceeds $1.2 million. Throughout this period, the bank's efforts have mainly focused on providing partial scholarships that have reached more than 1,700 university level students and extending grants to NGOs that invest in youth education programs and microfinance for low-income families. A key partnership with the Jordan River Foundation (JRF) was forged during this period resulting in the successful execution of several sustainability programs aimed at raising business skill level of women entrepreneurs in Amman, Aqaba and Ajloun. Since 2006, JRF has been Citi's partner in launching the "Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards" program which aims at rewarding successful micro-entrepreneurs in Jordan and raising awareness about the vital economic role of small business establishments in the Kingdom. Ziyad Akrouk, Citi's General Manager for Jordan, said, "We at Citi adopt a clear policy in the service of the 100+ countries that host us worldwide, including Jordan, and we do play a positive role in promoting financial education and micro-entrepreneurship for the purpose of improving the talent pool and improving living conditions among the less advantaged parts of society." Citibank N.A., Amman, Jordan was established in 1974 and is a fully licensed commercial bank, having two branches in the capital city, Amman. Citi Jordan today is responsible for Citi's business in Jordan, Syria and the Palestine National Authority. Citi Jordan is the only commercial US bank in the country and the only global foreign bank with senior local management. "We support the microfinance sector through annual financial grants to micro-entrepreneurs and reward through scholarships, outstanding students attending Jordanian universities whose only impediment is financial. This has been our approach for more than seven years and we intend to continue on this route which falls within our mission as a global corporate citizen," said Mr. Akrouk. Citi has been in the Arab world for nearly 50 years and continues to view the region as critical to its global franchise. It is currently present in 10 Arab countries including Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. Date of News 12/29/2009 12:00:00 AM Company Name Citigroup Issue Type Philanthropy Issue Youth Country United States