DUSHANBE, December 9, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is stepping up its micro finance lending in Tajikistan with a $1 million loan to Humo and Partners, a micro finance institution focused on supporting micro and small enterprises in rural areas, press release issued by the EBRD Dushanbe Office said.

Humo has been active in Tajikistan as a non-bank micro finance institution since December 2004 and has its origins in a micro credit program by the relief organization CARE International.  After two years of successful operations as a non-profit organization Humo has been transformed into the commercial entity Humo and Partners LLC.

Today, Humo has the fifth largest loan portfolio among all micro finance institutions in Tajikistan and strong growth potential. Clients in rural areas are effectively served through branches and lending outlets concentrated in the two key regions of Tajikistan.  The EBRD loan will be on-lent to new and existing customers to strengthen entrepreneurial activity in the country.

The loan comes under the third extension of the EBRD’s framework for micro finance institutions in Early Transition Countries.  The program allows for the provision of comparatively small loans with far-reaching impacts as they are targeted at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises which still have very limited access to finance.

Matthieu Le Blan, head of the EBRD office in Dushanbe, said the loan will provide micro and small enterprises in rural areas of Tajikistan with much-needed access to finance.  Furthermore, the EBRD loan will support the sustainable development and further strengthening of Humo by promoting the commercialization of the institution.

Through its micro and small enterprises programs, the EBRD has supported over three million small enterprises throughout Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus.  The EBRD currently works with 108 commercial banks and non-bank microfinance institutions to establish or expand specialized micro and small business finance units and to date has lent over €1.1 billion to leverage €17 billion in loans to micro and small businesses in the region.