MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC to Provide Local Currency Loans Worth Total of $13m to FINCA Azerbaijan, FINCA Kyrgyzstan to Expand Access to Microfinance

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, reportedly will provide local-currency loans of USD 7 million to FINCA Azerbaijan and USD 6 million to FINCA Kyrgyzstan, two microfinance institutions (MFIs) that are members of US-based FINCA International's global microfinance network. News.az, an Azerbaijani news website, has quoted Steve McGuire, CFO of FINCA International, as having said, “The long-term local currency loans provided by IFC to FINCA Azerbaijan and FINCA Kyrgyzstan will support sustainable lending to low-income entrepreneurs in urban and rural areas without exposing them to foreign currency risk” [1]. Established in 1998, FINCA Azerbaijan provides loans to low-income entrepreneurs. As of March 31, 2011, FINCA Azerbaijan reported to the US-based nonprofit data provider Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of... Continue reading here. Contact MicroCapital to receive a complete sample issue of the MicroCapital Monitor, the monthly microfinance newspaper.