The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it will lend USD 5 million to the Pakistan-based Kashf Foundation in order to support women microentrepreneurs. FMO will disburse the loan from Massif, a fund it manages on behalf of the Dutch government.
Kashf aims to alleviate poverty by providing financial services to low-income households, especially women. Kashf was established in 1996 and as of 2017 has a network of 290 branches and serves 340,000 clients. Kashf has total assets of USD 104.6 million, with a gross loan portfolio of USD 69 million and 249 active branches serving 299,000 active borrowers as of 2016.[1]
Massif “focuses on small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs, women and youth entrepreneurs, as well as supporting innovations in inclusive business.” Via its investees, it funded 24,000 microfinance loans during the three months ending September 2017.[2] As of 2017, Massif has a net portfolio of EUR 579 million (USD 697 million), including loans, direct equity placements and investments via other funds.
The vision of FMO is to help abolish extreme poverty, increase equality and support measures that reduce climate change. It reports total assets of EUR 8.5 billion (USD 9.5 billion) and profit before taxes of EUR 219 million (USD 245 million) for the year 2016.[3]
By Alex Gelfond, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
FMO press release:
https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/b717414e-683e-4743-bfb0-ffc361a1a97c/fmo-supporting-micro-entrepreneurs-in-pakistan
[1] Kashf profile at the MIX Market https://www.themix.org/mixmarket/profiles/kashf-foundation
[2] Massif fund: https://www.fmo.nl/partner-with-us/massif
Kashf Foundation: http://kashf.org/
[3] MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Triodos, Accion Invest Equity in Nicaraguan Microfinance Institution Financiera FAMA
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-fmo-triodos-accion-invest-equity-nicaraguan-microfinance-institution-financiera-fama/
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kashf Foundation of Pakistan Borrows in Local Currency from SEB Microfinance Funds, Arranged by Symbiotics
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Araratbank of Armenia, FMO Ink $10m Risk-sharing Facility to Boost MSMEs
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Hamkorbank of Uzbekistan Borrows $50m from FMO to Fund SMEs Owned by Women, Youth; Microenterprise; Climate Projects
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Arohan of India Raises $11m in Equity from FMO to Expand Microfinance, Including via Technology
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Satya of India Borrowing $35m from FMO, Finnfund for Microfinance for Rural Women, Youth – Including to Enable Green Transition
