The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an international financial institution headquartered in London, announced recently that it has committed to loan the equivalent of USD 2 million in the local currency, somoni, to Frontiers Microlending Company (Frontiers), a Kyrgyzstan-based non-bank microfinance institution, to serve the “lower end of the microfinance market in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan” [1]. Frontiers will use the proceeds of this loan to finance 10 to 12 unnamed small and medium-sized microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the three countries. The loan is part of EBRD’s Local Currency Lending Programme in Early Transition Countries (ETC) that aims to stimulate economic activity in the countries served by EBRD that are deemed to face the most significant economic challenges.
As of 2010, Frontiers reported total assets of USD 26.4 million as per its annual report. As of 2011, EBRD has committed approximately EUR 326 million (USD 450 million) to various sectors of the Kyrgyz economy.
By Nisha Koul, Research Associate
About European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a development finance institution headquartered in London. The bank began operations in 1991 upon the agreement of 40 countries and is now owned by 61 countries as well as the European Investment Bank and the European Union. It aims to finance operations that are both commercially viable and assist development in 29 countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and more recently in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region. It does this by providing loans, debt securities, equity investments, guarantees and technical assistance to micro- and small businesses via commercial banks and non-bank microfinance institutions (MFIs). In 2010, EBRD invested in 386 projects with a total value of EUR 22 billion (USD 30.2 billion).
About Frontiers Microlending Company: Frontiers Microlending Company (Frontiers) was founded in 2003 by donations channeled through the American non-profit organization Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) as part of the Central Asia Microfinance Alliance (CAMFA), a project financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Frontiers aims to support microfinance institutions (MFIs), by providing them with wholesale loans. As of 2010, Frontiers reported total assets of USD 26.4 million as per its annual report.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] EBRD News, “EBRD provides loan to Frontiers MLC for cross-border microfinancing,” http://www.ebrd.com/pages/news/press/2011/111011.shtml
Frontiers Annual Report 2010, http://www.frontiers.kg/uploads/External%20audit%202010.pdf
MicroCapital.org story, April 22, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility of Switzerland Loans $11m to ProCredit Georgia, Frontiers of Kyrgyz Republic, AgroInvest Holding of Montenegro, Sathapana of Cambodia,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-responsability-of-switzerland-loans-11m-to-procredit-georgia-frontiers-of-kyrgyz-republic-agroinvest-holding-of-montenegro-sathapana-of-cambodia/
MicroCapital.org story, June 22, 2010, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: BlueOrchard Commits $4m in Debt Capital to Microfinance Projects in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Jordan,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-blueorchard-commits-4m-in-debt-capital-to-microfinance-projects-in-kyrgyzstan-tajikistan-and-jordan/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=European+Bank+for+Reconstruction+and+Development+%28EBRD%29
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Frontiers Microlending Company, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=FRONTIERS
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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