Turkmenistan to Benefit from IFC Experience in Micro-Finance in the Kyrgyz Republic
In Washington, D.C.
Thoko Moyo
Tel. +1(202) 458 8517
E-Mail: TMoyo@ifc.org
In Istanbul
Antoine Courcelle-Labrousse
Tel: +90 212 385 300
E-mail: ACourcelle@ifc.org
In Almaty
Gorton de Mond
Tel: +7 3272 980 580
E-mail: GMond@ifc.org
In Belgrade
Rolf Behrndt
Tel: +381 (0) 11 3023 750
E-mail: RBehrndt@ifc.org
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, February 1, 2007
- IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has been requested
by the Turkmenistan government and private sector to assist in developing
micro-finance programs in the country. As a first step, IFC organized
a tour by Turkmen bankers to study IFC successful micro-finance operations
in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Participants in the study tour included Myrat Saparov, Head of the Credit
Department of Turkmenistan’s Central Bank; Myratniyaz Berdiyev, Head of
the Central Bank’s State Loan Division; and Eyeberdy Atayev, Head of International
Activity Management of the Senagat Bank. The tour, which ran from
from January 20 to 26, included a visit to Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.
The group had a series of meetings with representatives of the Kyrgyz financial
sector, including representatives of the country’s National Bank, its
Agricultural Finance Corporation, and several nongovernmental organizations
and multilateral financial institutions. They also met with IPC, which
manages the Micro/SME Finance Program in the Kyrgyz Republic.
“The meetings were extremely beneficial to us. They have given us
some models of best practice as well as shown some of the pitfalls to avoid
when implementing our own microfinance program. We were also able
to observe practical applications of lending technologies, some of which
already exist in Turkmenistan. We now have more ideas on how to use
them to benefit our local enterprises,” said Myrat Saparov of the Central
Bank of Turkmenistan.
Gorton de Mond, IFC’s Regional Representative for Central Asia, said,
“There are many valuable lessons of experience in microcredit development
that the Kyrgyz Republic can share with Turkmenistan. Like their
counterparts in Turkmenistan today, microentrepreneurs in the Kyrgyz Republic
– many of them in rural areas – previously had little or no access to
finance. With support from IFC and other organizations, this has
greatly changed, and there are now more income opportunities for thousands
of households. This has helped reduce poverty in rural areas, and
we believe a similar impact can be achieved in Turkmenistan.”
Turkmenistan became a member of IFC in 1997, and since then IFC has provided
support through both financial products and advisory services. The study
tour of Turkmen bankers to the Kyrgyz Republic is an important first step
in developing microfinance in the country.
About IFC
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, promotes open and
competitive markets in developing countries. IFC supports sustainable
private sector companies and other partners in generating productive jobs
and delivering basic services, so that people have opportunities to escape
poverty and improve their lives. Through FY06, IFC Financial Products has
committed more than $56 billion in funding for private sector investments
and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies
in 140 developing countries. IFC Advisory Services and donor partners have
provided more than $1 billion in program support to build small enterprises,
to accelerate private participation in infrastructure, to improve the business
enabling environment, to increase access to finance, and to strengthen
environmental and social sustainability. For more information, please visit
www.ifc.org.
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