The First MicroFinanceBank Afghanistan (FMFB-A) has been the first microfinance institution in Afghanistan to offer a housing microfinance (HMF) product. FMFB-A has made significant strides in rolling out a successful housing microfinance loan product with a resulting well-performing portfolio.
This is an important achievement given the security situation, operational challenges, and poor regulatory environment in Afghanistan.
The idea to develop such a product started in 2007 as a response to client demands. Its aim has been to increase access to housing microfinance for Afghanistan’s low-income households in urban and rural areas. It also sought to improve the quality of housing for this segment by offering construction technical assistance services.
Ziauddin Haidari, FMFB-A’s CEO says: “FMFB-A is a bank with a social mission and has a shared commitment to the social objectives of the GABV and its member banks.”
Since the launch of the house microfinance product, FMFB-A has experienced exponential growth in its portfolio. The institution has managed to transform potential demand for housing finance into an actual supply of financial products which have specifically targeted informal low-income earners (both self-employed and salaried employees) from urban and rural areas.
