ACDI/VOCA’s MicroInvest Receives EBRD Loan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and MicroInvest Microlending Fund signed a loan agreement for $700,000 to promote the healthy development of the microfinance industry, increase household incomes and reduce poverty and the vulnerability of the low-income population in Tajikistan. The 2006 loan agreement is a testament to MicroInvest’s excellent performance and commitment to providing financial services to low-income people as a microfinance institution (MFI) in Tajikistan.

“This is a very important step in the development of Micro Invest. After the initial support of USAID and ACDI/VOCA, obtaining a credit line from EBRD is a proof that MicroInvest is one of the leading MFI in Tajikistan. This facility will allow us to serve more customers,” MicroInvest General Director Shoira Sadykova said.

MicroInvest began its microlending activity in March 2002 under the USAID-funded Ferghana Valley Regional Microfinance Project implemented by ACDI/VOCA. ACDI/VOCA founded MicroInvest to deliver sustainable financial services to small and micro entreprises in Tajikistan and to set the standard for good microfinance practice. Today MicroInvest is one of the leading non-bank MFIs active in northern Tajikistan, serving rural borrowers not traditionally targeted by commercial Tajik banks. MicroInvest has extended loans to over 6,700 entrepreneurs throughout the Tajik side of the Ferghana Valley, and its loan portfolio is over $1,400,000. MicroInvest’s major competitive achievements include high standards of service, client-responsive product design and easy access to various communities through rural suboffices. MicroInvest has eight representative offices and two branches operating in Soughd region.

MicroInvest has collaborated with EBRD’s $7 million Tajik Micro and Small Enterprise Finance Facility, which was launched three years ago, with the help of international donors, and they have together successfully financed over 4,600 Tajik businesses. Almost all the clients benefiting from the EBRD program have never had access to finance before. Microloans are disbursed to commercially viable private enterprises both in dollars and Tajik somoni. In the future, MicroInvest hopes to widen the range of loan products as clients grow and partners gain confidence in this vibrant market segment. This loan agreement signing ceremony marked an important first-step in a long-term relationship between EBRD and MicroInvest based on cooperation and trust to help the low-income manage their risks better and build assets.