Program: Purpose: Amount: Term: Start date: Location:

Microfinance Expand community-based savings groups $4 million Five years January 2009 Tajikistan

Why We Partnered

Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) is a non-denominational, non-governmental, development agency that supports social development programs in Asia and Africa. The organization promotes creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily working with the poorest, most rural and remote communities.

Tajikistan is a geographically and economically isolated country in Central Asia with a population of approximately seven million people. Nearly half of the population lives below the poverty line and have severely limited access to microfinance, markets and training opportunities. AKFC will introduce, adapt and expand community-based savings groups in three mountainous regions. These are groups in which the loan capital comes from the group’s accumulated savings. Each group sets its own rules about membership, savings and loans. This program will help entrepreneurs develop businesses and connect them to markets.

This program is part of a coordinated global learning initiative with other organizations to generate new insights on cost-effective ways to offer financial services to the remote poor.

Anticipated Impact

• Improve the lives of 350,000 people
• Contribute new knowledge to the VSLA model