OREANDA-NEWS. July 18, 2012. The Microfinance Company Bai-Tushum & Partners jointly with Kiva Foundation and GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation) Program on promotion of sustainable economic development in the KR have launched a new concessional loan product to start business,, reported the press-centre of IBC.

The loan provides funding for women and youth entrepreneurship. Selected customers will undergo “Start Your Business” training according to CEFE method (which means “The modern economy is formed by knowledgeable and competent entrepreneurs”). During the training, participants are taught the basics of starting and running own business. They learn how to successfully start their own business, create a product and to sell it, and make financial calculations to avoid losses.

Today it is vital to improve financial education of the local population, and a Plan Your Future session on financial literacy is included in the training program.

“The knowledge gained within the Start Your Business program, as well as provision of financing under the loan will be a good opportunity to support business initiatives of the economically active population, which will undoubtedly lead to improving their living standards and welfare of families,” said Nurgul Torobaeva, Deputy General Manager of CJSC MFC “Bai-Tushum & Partners.”

Bai-Tushum & Partners has been operating in the micro lending market for over 11 years. During this time, more than 120 thousand Kyrgyz citizens have obtained loans in the amount more than 9.7 billion soms. Today the Company is one of the three largest organizations in the microfinance sector and its share is over 19% of the total loan portfolio of the sector. Bai-Tushum & Partners is a reliable and stable company with an impeccable reputation not only in Kyrgyzstan but also in Central Asia. On July 15, 2011 Bai-Tushum & Partners became the first microfinance organization in Kyrgyzstan that has obtained a deposit license.

Promotion of Sustainable Economic Development in the Kyrgyz Republic Program, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Society for International Cooperation) on behalf of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development supports the Government of Kyrgyzstan in main directions of economic development. The program has been implemented since 2008. The work is based on four components: reformist politics, reinforced value added chains, local economic development, and access to finance. The program’s actions are directed at holding structural changes in the economy of the country, contributing to an increase of income and employment. Thus, the program has conducted numerous trainings for unemployed women and youth, at which they gained skills and knowledge that will help them create their own business.

KIVA Foundation is an Internet platform, combining people with the purpose of lending to socially vulnerable population around the world and contributing to global efforts on poverty alleviation. Kiva Foundation cooperates with 154 microfinance institutions in 62 countries around the world.