|
New phase of Tajik micro finance scheme
$1 million EBRD credit line for Tajikistan’s Eskhata Bank
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, spearheading a drive
backed by international donors to encourage micro finance in the Bank’s
poorest country of operation, has extended a $1 million credit line to a Tajik
bank, its first under the recently launched scheme.
The agreement was signed in Dushanbe today with Eskhata Bank, one of the
EBRD’s original partners under the Tajikistan Micro and Small Enterprise
Finance Facility (TMSEF). The funds are earmarked for on-lending to local
small and micro entrepreneurs and businesses.
The EBRD’s Tajik micro finance initiative was launched last October on the
model of programmes that the Bank is running in 17 other countries. During the
first five months of the new scheme, the EBRD’s two Tajik partner banks
financed loans using their own resources.
Eskhata Bank disbursed 200 micro loans for a total of $470,000 during that
period in the two largest cities of Tajikistan, Dushanbe and Khujand, while
the other partner bank, TajikSadirotbank, which joined in November, has since
disbursed about 50 loans worth $130,000. Loans are being made both in US
dollars and in the local currency, Tajik Somoni.
The majority of borrowers are for the first time in their lives gaining access
to formal credit. Women account for 48 per cent of the borrowers under the
programme.
A number of international donors have played a crucial role in the initial
phase. The UK and US governments have funded EBRD consultants advising the two
partner banks on how to set up dedicated micro finance units and to develop a
credit technology tailored to the needs of small entrepreneurs. The Swiss
government has provided funds to support a risk-sharing mechanism for the
EBRD’s loans, while the European Union committed funds to enable this
technical assistance programme to continue.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering providing co-financing
for the EBRD’s partner banks under the TMSEF facility, and a third Tajik bank,
TajpromBank, is due to join the programme as a partner bank in March.
The TMSEF is planning to extend operations and start active lending in the
south of the country through the branch network of the partner banks by
year-end. It is also envisaged that more partner banks will benefit from EBRD
technical assistance and credit lines by the end of the year.
|
