Canada to bolster Afghanistan's 'model' microcredit

Today Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation announced that Canada, the leading donor for microcredit, will give an extra $16 million to Afghanistan's national program, the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA).

While this is a modest budget by international standards, money spent in this way can have a big payoff. MISFA was launched in 2003 and currently funds 13 microfinance institutions that provide poor Afghans with access to loans and financial services. The program has doubled in reach in the past twelve months, and currently assists 300,000 Afghans, three-quarters of whom are women.

According to a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) press release, "Last year, an interim performance review of MISFA and the Afghan microfinance sector was commissioned by the Afghan Government and international donors including Canada. Published in October 2006, the report concludes that MISFA's design and implementation should serve as a model for building the microfinance sector in other conflict affected countries."

For more on microcredit in Afghanistan, click here.