DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, March 27. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a $5 million loan to Tajikistan’s Arvand Bank, Trend reports.
According to the EBRD, the loan is provided under the Financial Intermediary Framework-Central Asian Women in Business (CA WiB) programme.
This marks the fourth WiB loan for Arvand Bank, building on the success of previous engagements. The transaction, a part of the Taj WiB program and the CA WiB initiative, aims to continue supporting women-led MSMEs in Tajikistan by providing financing and expertise for their business endeavors.
The Women in Business (WiB) in Central Asia Programme strives to foster women's entrepreneurship across Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It aims to help women-led MSMEs in these countries by facilitating their access to financing, expertise, and guidance.
The EBRD plans to allocate over $110 million in investment funds through this initiative. By collaborating with partner financial institutions (PFIs), the program aims to reach out to at least 7,000 women-led MSMEs, who often encounter significant gender-related barriers when seeking financial support and expert advice.
Meanwhile, 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.
Arvand Bank provides a comprehensive suite of banking services, focusing mainly on the retail and MSME sectors in Tajikistan. As of the end of 2023, Arvand ranks as the ninth-largest bank by assets and the fourth-largest by loan book among banks in Tajikistan.
