Oxus Microfinance Network

“While we are very pleased with the quick growth and solid results achieved by the OXUS Group in Central Asia over the past years, we are eager to develop our activities further and bring sustainable, socially-oriented financial services to the working poor in other parts of the world, mainly in Africa. This is why the OXUS Group aims at opening new microfinance institutions (MFIs) and being present in 12 countries by the year 2015.

In order to reach this objective, we will continue to work hand in hand with ACTED, whose expertise has proven crucial for opening greenfield MFIs in post-crisis countries. We plan to maintain our efforts to link the OXUS strategy and development with ACTED’s programmes, both on the ground and at headquarters. The OXUS Group is also closely involved in ACTED’s various microfinance initiatives: OXUS MFIs all use Octopus, and some OXUS clients can be funded through Babyloan.

At the OXUS Group, we believe in the role of microfinance as a poverty reduction tool and are strongly committed to having a positive social impact on the lives of our clients and their communities. We were among the first signatories of the MicroFinance Transparency pledge for price transparency in the microfinance sector, and the same is true of our involvement within the Smart Campaign for client protection. In order to review the social impact of our work, we have begun setting up a strategy for a social evaluation of all our activities worldwide.

The OXUS Group is also convinced that the microfinance sector needs to be further consolidated and professionalised. We have taken a series of actions to revise our internal procedures to optimise the use of our resources and improve the quality of our activities. We continue to strive to disseminate best microfinance practices throughout the world and to achieve high levels of internal control and transparency. We have also worked hard to reinforce the burgeoning microfinance sectors in the countries where our MFIs operate, for instance by investing in the new Tajik Credit Bureau, or assisting the creation of local MFI associations such as AMFOT in Tajikistan or AMA in Afghanistan.

In just six years, OXUS MFIs have successfully helped improve the lives of the working poor in Central Asia by disbursing nearly 133,000 loans amounting to US $ 97.9 million. Thanks to the efforts of our employees, investors and partners, we have become leading MFIs in the countries where we operate. We can only hope for their continued support and similar success in implementing our strategy in new countries over the coming years. “

Michaël Knaute

Chief Executive Officer

OXUS Development Network