BFC together with Bankakademie developed and successfully tested an agricultural pilot lending project in a major Georgian commercial bank.

This groundbreaking pilot was one of the first ever attempts to develop a commercially viable agricultural micro lending product for a Georgian bank.

BFC's approach featured:

• Drawing on international and regional best practices to inform the development of a first-class product;
• Elaborating a detailed risk management strategy by pinpointing the risks associated with rural micro lending;
• Building the rural microlending capacity of staff;
• Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of project design;
• Expanding the pilot project to other markets.

86 clients from 30 villages received loans totaling USD 58,500, meeting their working capital requirements for the season and enabling better crop yields.