Development Fund

Development Fund for Supporting of Farmers and Businessmen

Priorities are poor women and families without bread winners, men, and people who do not have sources of starting capital. Development Fund is a public non-commercial fund founded on the base of association of farm-holdings (which started its activity in 1995) and the Information-consulting Center "TOJ-INFO" for private agriculture-business (which started its activity in 1999 after receiving a grant from the Eurasia Foundation).

Development Fund is the leading and best-known semiformal institute in North Tajikistan, which has the legal right to conduct learning trains, seminars and micro-finance programs and projects.

Development Fund's employees-are highly-educated specialists, with work experience in Tacis, German Agro Action (GAA), Safe the Children Fund (UK), on grants of International Institutions, in banks, in the sphere of agriculture-business, and teaching in Universities and Colleges.

Object and Tasks of the Fund

Participation in the reform of the social-economic sphere on the base of steady human development criterion, assistance to the social-economic well-being of citizens by support to vulnerable layers of farmer's population, entreprenuers.

The Fund Fulfils the Following Tasks:

• Protection of social-economic, civil and personal rights, interests of target groups, at whom is focused the activity of the Fund, providing of many-sided support to vulnerable groups of population, including charity activity;
• Active participation in privatization and economic reform, information- consulting support to enterprises and organizations of all kind of property;
• Information-Consulting and training support on micro-finance, credit, loan, investment, innovation, trust venture audit, consulting, leasing. Insurance, pledge activity;
• Working out, expertise and realization of micro-finance, insurance, credit, charity, investment, innovation projects and programs;
• Working out and realization of projects according to gender development;
• Participation in projects, which are focused on social solidarity, building up of civil society, development and interaction of non state enterprises and non commercial institutions;
• Working out and carrying out social-economic investigations.
• Editorial-publishing activity, organization of the issue of learn-methodic, juridical literature, information materials and non repetition editions which intersect with Fund's activity;
• Working out of training programs, organization (creation) of training centers, conducting of training courses, conferences, seminars, round-tables.

Complex Micro-finance Project

Information-Consulting Center "TOJ INFO" publishes and circulates the information bulletin "Reform", carries out training seminars, has done support and consultation - by informing, by explaining to people their own rights and responsibilities and legislation acts with the aim of assisting them in privatization, the creation of farm holdings, private enterprises. The Fund has also started a new project engaging in entrepreneurship, with priority directed towards poor sections of the population.

Eurasia Foundation's grant, with the help of the Tajik Social Investment Fund in social partnership with local NGOs has carried out a complex program of microfinance:

• groups social-mediatoring;
• social mediatoring;
• finance mediatoring;
• services on development of entrepreneurs (farms, micro-enterprises);
• social services (for poor layers of population) (for the poorest layers of population).

The first stage of the projects' realization foresees the creation of favorable surroundings of microfinance for poor sections of the farmer's population and private entrepreneurs in rural places with the help of the creation of Information-Consulting Training Center and Micro-Finance Institute.

In this way are managed following tasks.

• Working out of well-grounded proposals and formulas for proofreading of complements to the legislation in the sphere of:
  • development of noncommercial NGOs;
  • non-bank and financing activity, including microfinance;
  • standard acts of tax legislation.
• Working out of conception of micro-finance realization programs in rural area, also criteria of evaluating of such programs.
• Participation in the creation of important institutions for realizations of micro-finance programs, according to worked out conception.
• Working out of local microfinance models.
• Organizational and institutional development of Microfinance Institute.
• Creation, organizational development of Information-Consulting Training Center.
• Working out the study plans, methodic materials and carrying out of training microfinance programs for different groups.
• Provision of information-consulting services in micro-financing.
• Realization of microfinance projects in micro-finance for different groups in Leninabad region.

Expected Final Results after Realisation of the Project

• Passage of legislation and standard-right acts which regulate activity of non-governmental non-commercial institutions, non-bank finance, including microfinance institutions, and also their taxation.
• Pamphlet- realization conception of microfinance programs in rural places.
• Evaluation criteria of microfinance programs will be determined as concrete indicators for the determination of economic, social and individual effective program realization.
• Standard packets of establishment documents will be worked out for different institutions which have a place in the realization of microfinance programs.
• A pamphlet with different models of micro-financing for different target groups will be created.
• An Information-Consulting Center of microfinance has already been created, which is provided with compliance material & technical maintenance.
• Worked out and published training & methodic text- books on microfinance.
• Worked out training plans and carried out short-term programs of micro-finance for individual target groups.
• Provided edition and circulation of information microfinance bulletin.
• Creation and development of Micro-Finance institute, which has certain licenses and rights.
• Implemented micro-finance project for different target groups in some districts of Leninabad region.
• The results of project's realization will be used in other regions of Tajikistan by direct help of TASIF.

Invitation for Cooperation

According to international experience, donors are the main founders of micro-finance activity, and their approach towards it and the demands, which they present to Micro-Finance Institutions, have a great influence on microfinance development.

If the donors' main object is reducing poverty and supporting vulnerable sectors of the population, the most important thing for Micro-Finance Institutions is the satisfaction of its clients' demands on the long-term base.

At the same time for the realization of microfinance programs it is necessary that donors and MFI act for achieving of common object: providing corresponding services to finance, social, entrepreneurs, development, etc., which are suitable to the client's demands with low level of profit.

Taking into account that structure divisions of Development Fund perfectly know local conditions: target market, its demands in complex (whole) micro- finance services, local micro-finance institutes, local legislation and etc., and also by planned results of project's realizations, the Fund proposes cooperation in the following spheres of microfinance programs realization in Tajikistan:

• Participation of Fund's specialists in training courses on microfinance;
• Providing literature and information materials on microfinance ;
• Program insurance for the work of Micro-Finance Institute, and also for conducting training courses and programs on microfinance;
• Working out of microfinance models and evaluation criterion of microfinance programs activity in rural area;
• Provide Information-Consulting-Training Center with material-technical and training method supplies.
• Organization and institution development of Micro-Finance Institute:
  • training of personnel and inviting of consultants;
  • working out of complete packet of Information technology, finance instruments, management on business-strategy and audit, and another documents, which are necessary for function of Micro-Finance Institute and for work with clients (on electron version);
  • creation of Information System Network for Micro-Finance Institute;
  • provide Information Finance Institute with material-technical supply, which is necessary for its function;
  • strategic business planning for achieving self-finance positions;
  • set up infrastructure of MFI in districts of Leninabad region with material-technical supply, for going close to local units in providing services;
  • grant for the capital of loan and institutional capital;
  • grant for institutional support of MFI before its achieving of self-finance position.
• Realization of microfinance programs:
  • grants for providing of social service (for poor layers of population);
  • grant for services on entrepreneurship development, farms, micro-enterprises;
  • grant for the group of social intermediary (for poor layers of population);
  • credit line for finance intermediary;
  • grant for rural insurance fund, which allows to insure losses against natural disaster.

Last updated:    December 1999

For further information on Central Asian NGOs see also Civil Society in Central Asia (CCSI, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute of Johns Hopkins University, and University of Washington Press, 1999).

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