DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, March 27. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a $2 million loan to Tajikistan’s Humo microcredit deposit organization, Trend reports.
According to the bank, the loan is offered under the Central Asian Youth in Business Programme (CA YiB). The fund will promote financing to eligible youth-led micro, small, and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) in the country that meet the qualifying requirements established in the CA YiB policy statement.
The assistance aims to promote youth entrepreneurship and increased engagement in economic ventures. Furthermore, the EBRD stated that accomplishing these goals will improve access to capital for Tajikistan's youth entrepreneurs, which Humo may not have had otherwise.
Humo provides a comprehensive range of banking services,
including deposits, loans, payments, and money transfers,
especially to the lower sector of MSME clients, with a focus on
retail and agricultural lending. Humo has 24 locations and 49
customer service outlets in Tajikistan, serving about 286,000
customers in over 64 cities and districts.
A seven-year Youth in Business Programme for Central Asia seeks to
improve access to finance and provide relevant training to young
entrepreneurs in the region, where up to one-third of the
population is between the ages of 18 and 34. The program provides
up to 200 million euros in lending to up to 20 partner financial
institutions in Central Asia and Mongolia.
The current loan portfolio of the EBRD in Tajikistan amounted to 482 million euros for 69 active projects as of January 31, 2024.
As of the reporting date, the EBRD's cumulative investments in Tajikistan totaled 919 million euros, spread across 165 projects, with the private sector's share in the portfolio amounting to 13 percent.
