Microfinance Investment Support Facility For Afghanistan

Microfinance Investment Support Facility For Afghanistan

The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) is a national microcredit program in Afghanistan. MISFA was launched by the Government of Afghanistan in June 2003 as a multi-donor microfinance wholesale facility to build the microfinance sector of Afghanistan.

MISFA enables low-income earners in Afghanistan to have access to microcredit in order to generate income and meet their consumption needs. MISFA has been providing investment funds to a wide range of NGO-led microfinance institutions (MFIs) that are committed to providing financial services to the poor and vulnerable of Afghanistan.

The MISFA currently has about 15 partner MFIs that in turn provide a range of financial services in Afghanistan, including loans for income generation and enterprise development, savings services, and consumer loans to low-income people, particularly women. MISFA also serves as a source of training and technical assistance, as well as a mechanism for networking, sharing information, lobbying, and advocacy on behalf of the industry.

Major partner MFIs include BRAC Afghanistan, FINCA Afghanistan and Aga Khan Development Network's Afghanistan Rural Microcredit Programme (ARMP).

SME Department at MISFA Afghanistan was created in 2006 last quarter with ARIES/USAID program and Technical Assistance provided by the Shore Bank International. The SME department at MISFA is aimed in providing credit lines, guarantee facilities and a broad range capacity building and technical assistance to the partner banks.

Currently the major SME partners are FMFB, BAL, BAB and OXUS MFI.

Mohammad Anwar Alvi is the SME Manager, Reshad Rasooly, Fraidoon Samim and Mohammad Hassan Ahmadi are the three Afghan SME Credit Analysts, the SME Credit Analysts are experts in training of the banks' loan officers, loan managers and supervisors, verification and audit officers and loan administration departments.

The department has so far trained 340 bank officers and managers on Character and Cash-flow based individual lending, Process, procedures and appraisal systems.