Accesses to finance AICS OPT - ACAD The three-year IBTKAR Project stems from the desire to strengthen the social, economic and environmental resilience of agriculturalentrepreneurs and of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) actors in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through innovative and sustainable solutions in the post-Covid-19 era (Specific Objective). In this way, the Project aims to contribute to the achievement of SDG 8 to foster a lasting, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work in Palestine (General Objective).Therefore, the Project adopts a holistic approach, working on three levels: micro, through financial and technical support to micro, small and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector and to SSE operators; meso, through strengthening (financial and technical) structures to support small agricultural producers; macro, for a legislative, but also cultural and social framework, in favour of financial inclusion and SSE. The macro level will also foresee activities at the international level, to uphold Palestinians' socio-economic rights.The Project is rooted in the concept of innovation, in Arabic IBTKAR, the title of this proposal. Innovation is a guiding concept for the whole action, pursued through: (i) Financial services offered by the partner microfinance institutions. These instruments will be more flexible, tailored to the needs of the target groups and will follow a value chain financing approach based on the financial inclusion of all actors of the agricultural supply chain. (ii) Accompanying services to credit beneficiaries customised and focused on the development of managerial and marketing skills, as well as on the introduction of gender and environmental justice principles. (iii) Business models based on the values of the SSE, i.e. human dignity, social and gender justice, environmental and ecological sustainability, democracy, and cooperation. In the Palestinian context, SSE played an important role during the Covid-19 pandemic and can play an equally important role in the recovery phase. (iv) Tools and toolkits designed according tothe real needs of the target groups, and to the specific economic, political, social and cultural context and shared in dedicated training sessions.All the activities carried out as well as the services provided within the Project will be evaluated through dedicated learning sessions to analyse beneficiaries’ feedbacks, in order to reorient or strengthen the processes put in place.In this framework, each partner will bring in its own expertise, gained through years of cooperation and joint work. Specifically, Oxfam will offer its advocacy and policy experience, through the mobilisation of local actors in Palestine, and at an international level, through to the involvement of Oxfam Confederation affiliates, thus reaching a wide audience. Oxfam will also provide its experience in developing innovative tools to facilitate market access for disadvantaged groups (e.g. social impact investments with community organisations and local private investors, guarantee funds, agricultural insurances, capacity building for savings and loan cooperatives).Cospe will use its experience in SSE developed both in Italy and in other countries in the region. It will map, create, and consolidate a network of all SSE actors at national level and kick off an institutional dialogue to strengthen the network and create a morefavourable environment for the development of SSE.Banca Etica will support financial partners ACAD Finance and REEF Finance in order to strengthen their technical capacities and to jointly develop sustainable, inclusive and high social impact financial services. In doing so, Banca Etica will build on the long-standing partnership with these two microfinance institutions (as since 2007 the Bank is involved in the development of Reef Finance, and it is considering a shareholding in ACAD Finance).The Autonomous Province of Bolzano will share its excellence in SSE, agroecology, equal opportunities and gender equity, supporting the process of establishing a network of SSE in Palestine.Additionally, ACAD will provide its working experience in rural areas, especially with women and people with disabilities. ACAD, already a partner of Oxfam, Cospe and Banca Etica, has experience in managing the funds of numerous donors, including AICS.Together, the Italian and Palestinian partners will therefore combine their efforts in favour of lasting, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Palestine.