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| Belarusian Bank for Small Business |
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| Summary of Proposed Investment |
| This Summary of Proposed Investment is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of the IFC Board of Directors’ consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board decision. Board dates are estimates only. |
| Project number | 26262 |
| Company name | Belarusian Bank for Small Business |
| Country | Belarus |
| Sector | Finance & Insurance |
| Environmental category | FI |
| Department | Global Financial Markets Group |
| Status | Active |
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| Date SPI disclosed | August 22, 2007 |
| Projected board date | September 24, 2007 |
| Date revised SPI disclosed | November 14, 2007 |
| Previous Events | Invested: March 19, 2008
Signed: December 12, 2007
Approved: November 19, 2007 |
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| Overview |
Sponsor/Cost/Location |
Development Impact |
Contacts |
Attachments |
| Project description |
| The proposed project is to establish a dedicated greenfield microfinance bank in Belarus during 2007. The project will support the development of private micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Belarus by providing financial services on a sustainable basis. |
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| Project sponsor and major shareholders of project company |
| Potential co-sponsors include EBRD, FMO, KfW and IFC, as well as other IFIs. |
| Total project cost and amount and nature of IFC's investment |
| Total project cost is estimated at up to EUR 35 million. The proposed IFC investment includes an equity investment up to Euro 1.6 million and an A loan up to Euro 10 million. |
| Location of project and description of site |
| Initial operations will begin from head office and the first branch in Minsk, Belarus. It is anticipated that branches will be opened in all regional centers later on. A total of seven branches and four sales offices are expected to be opened by the fifth year of operations. |
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| Anticipated development impact of the project |
| The project is expected to have a high development impact by contributing to the development of the MSE sector in Belarus and further demonstrating the viability of the MSE lending operations to other local banks. Financing MSEs is critical to the development of free entrepreneurship practices as this contributes to economic and political stability through sustained employment opportunities. MFBB will bridge the gap between the demand and supply for MSE finance by providing permanent and reliable access to MSEs. It will also set new standards in good corporate governance, promote competition in the microfinance sector and foster innovation and better standards in customer service and conduct of business which will have a positive effect on other market participants and result in better services to the final beneficiaries. |
| IFC's expected development contribution |
| IFC’s main additionality lies in its extensive greenfielding experience. Over the past two years IFC has actively pursued the role out of the ProCredit greenfielding model, by strongly supporting the creation of three new microfinance holding companies. The experience gained and lessons learnt will be of great value to the new initiative in Belarus. Furthermore, IFC’s good reputation as independent investors with the Belarusian Government can strongly facilitate the process of establishing the bank and obtaining the necessary requirements. |
| Environmental and social issues - Category FI |
This project involves IFC support for the business of microfinance and has been classified as a Category FI project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure. Considering the nature of activities supported, the project will be required to:
- Develop a procedure relevant to its business process, prior to disbursement, that is satisfactory to IFC, and that ensures that all its investments are screened and processed to avoid supporting activities on the IFC Microfinance exclusion list;
- Identify qualified persons to manage and implement the procedure;
- Demonstrate commitment and resources to implementing the procedure;
- Submit a periodic report to IFC as per a format to be provided by IFC. |
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| For inquiries about the project, contact: |
Once the bank is established, a contact will be provided accordingly.
For the time being, please contact:
Li Ren, Investment Officer
Global Finance Markets Department
International Finance Corporation
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
USA
Telephone: 202-473-0356
Fax: 202-974-4374 |
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| For inquiries and comments about IFC, contact: |
General IFC Inquiries
IFC Corporate Relations
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384
E Mail: Webmaster |
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