Albanian Microfinance Conference

Marking the 25th year of the microfinance institutions activity in Albania, the Association of Microfinance Institutions (M.I.A./A.M.A.) on September 19, 2017, organized the conference “Albanian Microfinance, 25 years in the service of free enterprise”. The event was organized with the participation and contribution of 6 institutions, members of M.I.A. (NOA, Besa Fund, Agro&Social Fund, FedInvest, FAF and UniFin), as well as with the participation of partners and collaborators of the public and private sector.

The focus of the event was the journey and evolution of the microfinance sector, from the first years of the creation of micro-credit associations until today, when the development of the financial market and individual or commercial enterprises may bring the need for a reformulation of missions, and resizing the microfinance financial models as a whole.

The conference also discussed the current role of Microfinance in the market, serving that category of clients, which, for various reasons, has been left out of the attention, or care of the banking system, a factor that further enhances its significant economic and social impact in this market segment. Over the years, microfinance institutions have injected into the Albanian economy more than one billion dollars, significantly affecting employment growth in Albania. Today, these institutions, which are present throughout Albania, have hired more than 1000 employees, and serve more than 60 thousand active clients. Their mission has been and continues to be poverty alleviation and the development of self-employment, but this mission can further take on new dimensions aiming for microcredit institutions to do even more than that, to become a driving force of competitive and stable businesses development in the market.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of microfinance raised the issue recently discussed in non-bank financial institutions, which suggests the creation of possibilities for access to public deposits by microfinance institutions, funds which today are still not invested. The implementation of this idea would reduce the cost of funds, and consequently more favourable interest rates for clients of this sector. Regarding this suggestion, representatives of the Bank of Albania said that the advantages and disadvantages of the new proposed model compared to the existing one should be carefully assessed. Also, during the conference the possibility and need to influence the legislating authorities was discussed, in order to reformat and improve the legal framework for the proper functioning of microfinance institutions in accordance with market needs.