Social Issue

Kyrgyzstan is a low-income country. It is in the penultimate position in terms of gross national income (GNI) of all the states in Europe and Central Asia. 32% of the population lives below the poverty line.

One of the most important factors to consider is the lack of access to adequate banking and financial services by a large part of the population, a fact that holds back the country’s economic growth.

Our Response

Microloans are a powerful tool to provide opportunities to excluded and marginalised communities.

Kompanion was created in 2004 from the merger of several women’s microcredit agencies and a financing agency for SMEs. It is wholly owned by Mercy Corps International, which has a network of microfinance subsidiaries. Kompanion’s objective is “to become the main financial institution for the development of communities in Kyrgyzstan, supporting the strengthening and growth of these, with services for micro-entrepreneurs and individuals”. Kompanion is one of the largest financial institutions in the country in terms of number of clients and offers, above all, loans for groups of entrepreneurs in rural areas. 97% of its clients live in rural areas and 82% are women.

Expected Social Impact

With this investment of the Netri Foundation, it is estimated that Kompanion will be able to provide 497 loans to help these communities maintain their businesses in the rural areas of the country.