A Gulf Arab non-governmental organization, led by the father of Prince Alwaleed, plans to set up a bank for the poor in West Africa, the Saudi state news agency reported on Sunday. The Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND) made the announcement after its head, Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, met Sierra Leone's Trade and Industry Minister Alimamy Koroma and officials from the African lender Ecobank in Riyadh. The planned bank will be based in Sierra Leone and will be established in cooperation with Ecobank to boost small and micro entrepreneurs, SPA added without elaborating. Officials at AGFUND could not be reached immediately to comment. Prince Talal launched AGFUND in 1980.
