TIRANA, Oct 1 /ATA/ The European Fund for South East Europe for Development (EFSE), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and The Netherlands-based Rabo Partnerships in partnership with the microfinance institution have made the overview of 7 years of cooperation, assessing the effects of digitalization on financing in agriculture.
The program has transformed microfinance into Albania’s leading provider of sustainable and inclusive rural finance.
The parties look back on their joint efforts, the cooperation has built a strong, cooperative financial organization with a clear strategy, robust IT systems, sound governance and risk management frameworks and efficient operations. This partnership has empowered clients all over Albania, fostering prosperity and rural development.
Jacob Ole Nestingen, Manager at Finance in Motion said that “over the years we have worked closely with microfinance to support small businesses across Albania. Microfinance works closely with enterprises, mainly in rural areas, enabling them to finance but also supporting them in growth and development.”
Rabo Partnerships, part of Rabobank Bank, the Dutch international bank leading the financing in Food & Agri, has been the leading provider of expertise on this project. Reflecting on the project, Bjorn Schrijver, Project Manager, appreciates the microfinance institution’s investments for energy and their courage to modernize their internal systems and structures – a very complex process – to develop products and services tailored for the underserved segments of the financial services industry in Albania.
Perlat Sulaj, microfinance representative, said that during the duration of this project they have financed about 200 million euros, half of which were for activities related to agriculture, livestock and rural areas.
“The number of our members has increased 2.5 times since the beginning of this project, reaching nearly 94 thousand members. In addition to credits we have offered a wide range of products such as deposits, current accounts, utility payment products etc. Digitalization has been one of the pillars of this project,” he said.
Ambassador Reinout Vos said, “The Kingdom of the Netherlands is happy to support this project, enabling the empowerment of farmers and enterprises in rural areas.”
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