In 2024, a new member joined the ECLOF network of microfinance institutions: JSC Microfin, a small but impactful MFI from Georgia. The benefits of membership in the network have started to show in Tbilisi: the team and board built their capacity and knowledge through participation in international trainings and workshops, they learned and shared best practices with other ECLOF MFIs around the world, and Microfin committed to the Client Protection Principles thereby reinforcing ECLOF’s commitment to responsible finance.
Another benefit of membership in the network is improved access to funding. And here for the first time in ECLOF’s history, a sister
organization from the ECLOF network entered as a funder: EFUND Armenia, an independent foundation in Armenia that aims to strengthen social financing and rural development in Armenia and beyond. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the founder of Microfin, Constanta Foundation, and EFUND Armenia and after thorough due diligence, EFUND disbursed a loan to Microfin for building out its micro loan portfolio.
All parties expressed their enthusiasm about the launch of this collaboration—which not only strengthens professional relations within the ECLOF network in the region, but also personal ties between Georgia, Armenia, and Geneva.
