Germany-based Invest in Visions (IIV) recently loaned EUR 10 million (USD 11.1 million) to Eskhata Bank, a provider of microfinance and traditional financial services in Tajikistan, in an effort to stimulate economic development in the country, including in rural areas. The investment is one of a group of loans totaling EUR 19.3 million (USD 21.4 million) that IIV recently disbursed from its microfinance investment vehicle IIV Mikrofinanzfonds. The recipients of this funding include unidentified microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Bolivia, Cambodia, Kosovo and Moldova.
Founded in 1994, Eskhata Bank is based in the city of Khudand. In addition to microfinance, it provides services such as investment banking, trade finance and asset management from its 22 branches. As of 2018, the bank has a gross loan portfolio of USD 129.8 million and deposits amounting to USD 101.7 million. Eskhata Bank has total assets amounting to USD 207 million and serves approximately 293,270 customers, including farmers and small business owners.
IIV was founded in 2006 to provide access to investments that offer institutional and retail investors both financial and social returns, otherwise known as impact investments. In 2011, it launched IIV Mikrofinanzfonds, a fund that focuses on investing in small and medium-sized MFIs in rural areas. It accepts investments as small as EUR 100 (USD 112). As of July 2019, it has total assets amounting to EUR 723 million (USD 806 million). IIV Mikrofinanzfonds’ investments enable loans to 281,000 microentrepreneurs, comprising 50 percent women, with an average loan size of USD 2,785. In addition to microfinance, IIV offers services in areas such as “sustainable” agriculture and social enterprise.
By Anna Gravois, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
IIV factsheet
https://www.investinvisions.com/files/1907_factsheet_juli_2019_englisch.pdf
Eskhata Bank homepage
http://eskhata.com
IIV homepage
https://www.investinvisions.com
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