Washington, D.C., July 11, 2002
—The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector development arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a US$3.5 million loan to Micro Finance Bank Ukraine (MFB) to help expand its onlending operations to local micro and small enterprises.
In 2001, MFB was established with IFC’s support as Ukraine’s first microfinance institution. Since its creation, MFB has been successful in providing effective financing for working capital and equipment acquisition to small and micro enterprises in the country. By the end of June 2002, MFB had 3,025 loans outstanding in its portfolio.
Edward Nassim, IFC’s Director of the Central and Eastern Europe Department, said: “IFC is pleased to continue supporting one of the pioneers in providing financing to micro and small enterpreneurs in Ukraine. Our commitment is to encourage the development and growth of a strong private sector in the country, and strengthening the local financial sector is critical to reach this goal.”
IFC’s investment reflects a key aspect of IFC’s global microfinance strategy, focused in supporting the commercial viability of microfinance activities in developing countries. IFC believes that well-managed microfinance institutions can be commercially viable and should provide substantial and sustainable increase in the volume and range of financial services for microenterprises.
“The development of micro and small enterprises in Ukraine is crucial for the growth of the country’s economy, and MFB is supporting them through financial services,” said Volker Renner, General Manager of MFB. “IFC has been very supportive in the establishment and growth of MFB. This new loan will support the further expansion of our services to Ukraine’s entrepreneurs by adding five additional offices to our network that currently covers ten cities.”
MFB (
http://www.mfb.com.ua/
) is owned by IFC (20 percent), EBRD (20 percent), Western NIS Enterprise Fund (20 percent), German-Ukrainian Fund (20 percent), Internationale Micro Investitionen AG, IMI (10 percent), and the Dutch Stichting DOEN (10 percent).
IFC’s mission (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
Since its founding in 1956 through the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2001, IFC committed more than $31 billion of its own funds and arranged $20billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY01 was $14.3 billion.
