Background and History
FINCA Afghanistan was founded on August 1, 2003 through grants and loans supplied by several donors and funding agencies. Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan announced the launching of the program in 2002. FINCA Afghanistan began lending operations in the city of Herat on February 24, 2004. By the end of its first year in operation, the organization had reached over 4,500 clients, an outstanding loan portfolio of almost $700,000, and a repayment rate of 100%.
The rapid expansion achieved in less than a year was the first evidence of the pent-up demand for financial services and economic opportunity among Afghanistan's poor. Recognizing that these needs were not limited to Herat, FINCA initiated an ambitious long-term expansion plan to spread across Afghanistan, beginning with Kabul and Nangarhar in 2005, followed by Balkh, Laghman, Kunar and Parwan in 2006, and Kunduz in 2007. In each of these provinces, FINCA has established branch and market offices in the provincial capital, as well as outlying cities and districts.
Currently, FINCA Afghanistan has a total of over 33,289 clients and $4,403,106 in outstanding loans. Almost 10,000 of these clients are women. Other groups targeted in the program include ethnic minorities, returning refugees, orphans, and young former combatants.
Read more about this topic: FINCA Afghanistan
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