DUSHANBE, July 27, 2012, Asia-Plus – International Finance Corporation (IFC) is helping microfinance organizations in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan reach out to more clients, especially those in rural areas, as part of an effort to support economic growth in both countries, press release issued by IFC said.
IFC will advise FINCA Microcredit Deposit Organization and Humo and Partners in Tajikistan along with Kompanion Financial Group in Kyrgyzstan as they introduce new products for micro and small enterprises. Those include savings plans, money transfers, and cash management services. IFC will also help the lenders expand their businesses with the aim of becoming sustainable, deposit-taking microfinance institutions.
“FINCA will be able to link and bundle a diversified group of financial products to the customer, which will give the microfinance client more added value through the services we provide,” said Jerrold Smelcer, CEO of FINCA Tajikistan. “FINCA is excited about the numerous opportunities savings implementation will enable us to provide the Tajikistan microfinance community through this important collaboration with IFC.””
The initiative is part of IFC’s Central Asia Microfinance Transformation Support Project, which helps microfinance organizations expand and transform into broader financial institutions, like banks, strengthening their services and extending their reach.
“Access to finance remains challenging in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan,” said Cholpon Kokumova, Manager of IFC’s Central Asia Microfinance Transformation Support Project. “This initiative will help microfinance institutions transform into deposit-taking organizations, expand their product offerings, and increase their outreach, especially in rural areas. That will help raise standards of living and improve the lives of the poor.”
FINCA Tajikistan reaches 24,800 borrowers, and Humo and Partners has 17,000 clients in remote and rural areas of Tajikistan.
Kompanion serves more than 130,000 microentrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan. IFC gave Kompanion a $6 million loan in 2011 to support the expansion of its lending to micro and small enterprises in Kyrgyzstan.
In cooperation the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Development Bank of Austria (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG), IFC is assisting microfinance institutions in Central Asia to transform into banks or deposit-taking organizations enabling them to become more sustainable and increase access to finance for vulnerable and poor populations.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion.
