New IFC Loan to Help Homeowners and Micro Enterprises in Tajikistan

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $2.5 million loan in local currency to LLC MDO Arvand, one of Tajikistan's leading microfinance institutions, as part of an effort to support home ownership and drive economic growth in the Central Asian country.

The financing will be provided through cross-currency swaps with the International Development Association’s (IDA) Private Sector Window Local Currency Facility. This long-term financing will allow Arvand to significantly increase microloans to low-income families across rural Tajikistan, helping them to build new homes and renovate their existing dwellings. The loan will also help Arvand ramp up its lending to individual entrepreneurs, and micro and small enterprises (MSEs), groups that often have trouble accessing the finance they need to expand their businesses.