Washington, D.C., June 27 2002
—The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector development arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a US$6 million loan to Microfinance Bank of Georgia (MBG) to help expand its lending operations to local micro and small enterprises.
Edward Nassim, Director of IFC’s Central and Eastern Europe Department, said: “IFC is pleased to contribute to promoting the development and growth of entrepreneurs in the micro and small business sectors in Georgia. This investment supports IFC’s commitment to strengthen Georgia’s financial sector to enable it to provide much-needed financing to Georgia’s emerging entrepreneurs.”
This investment reflects a key aspect of IFC’s global microfinance strategy, which supports the commercial viability of microfinance institutions 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 Georgia is crucial for the growth of the country’s economy, and MGB is supporting them through financial services,” said Alexander von Gleich, General Director of MBG. He also noted: “IFC has been very supportive in the establishment and growth of MBG. This new loan will support the further expansion of our operations, currently consisting of more than 6,800 business loans which account for $25 million, and 20,000 consumer loans for an amount of $3.5 million.”
MBG was established in 1999 and is owned by the German-Georgian Foundation for the Promotion of Private Sector Development (20 percent) representing KfW (Germany), IFC (16 percent), EBRD (10 percent), Nederlandse Financierings Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanded N.V., FMO (10 percent), Internationale Micro Investitionen AG, IMI (10 percent), Commerzbank AG(15 percent) TBC Bank (17 percent) and Intellectbank (2 percent).
MBG owns $35 million in assets and occupies the fifth position among Georgian banks. In the near future the Bank intends to open 4 new branches in Gori, Manrneuli, Gurjaani and Rustavi, which will add to the existing 12.
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.