The EBRD is providing a senior loan in Tajikistan currency, equivalent to US $2 million, to IMON INTERNATIONAL, the largest microfinance institution in the country. The loan will the development of women’s entrepreneurship and of agribusiness in Tajikistan.

IMON is the second financial institution to join the EBRD’s Women in Business programme in Tajikistan, which was expanded recently into the country. ERBD is the third partner under the EBRD-EU Enhanced Competitiveness of Tajik Agribusiness Programme (ECTAP), which launched in late 2016. The funds will be on-lent to local MSMEs managed by women or active in agriculture or food production.

The ECTAP provides a combination of loans and investment grants, to help farmers replace their obsolete machinery and enable financial institutions to introduce modern lending practices. The loan will be complemented by technical assistance to IMON for the development of sustainable credit mechanisms.