The MEF fund provides a loan of USD 5 million amid the Covid-19 crisis to Inecobank, one of the leading banks in the South Caucasus region. The loan will enable them to offer more people the necessary financial services, even during the crisis.
Thanks to their technological advantages Inecobank was able to react quickly at the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis to service their customers and to continue even during these challenging times. At the end of March, Inecobank made its services to customers completely remote; the bank ensured that all their customers had the opportunity to used banking services online, without the need to visit any of the branches.
Inecobank is a longstanding partner of Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), comments Jan Dewijngaert of Incofin:
“Our collaboration with Inecobank started more than 12 years ago. The bank has a long track record of strong financial performance and is consistently among the most profitable banks in Armenia and is one of the pioneers of mobile banking. With their mobile payment platform, which is regarded as the best in the country, they aim to increase the outreach in rural areas. We are proud on our partnership with Inecobank both with equity and debt finance.” – Jan Dewijngaert, Regional Director Eastern Europe & Central Asia of Incofin IM
“As a financial instiution, we appreciate the value-creating long-term partnership we have with Incofin Investment Management. We’ve been working non-stop during the lockdown to provide quality remote services to our clients and we were confident that we can rely on our partner and this collaboration will create results for our clients that need support to grow in the times of this pandemic situation.” – Aren Naltakyan, CEO of Inecobank
Inecobank wanted to take up its social responsibility in the middle of the corona crisis by supporting the Armenian government’s initiatives. The Ministry of Finance opened an account at Inecobank to collect funds that are being used to prevent the spread and treatment of the coronavirus and to expand the social safety net for the most vulnerable ones. Inecobank promoted the collection and provided their banking app, so that donors could make their contribution in a heartbeat. Additionally, Inecobank itself made a substantial contribution to a hospital facility to fight the virus.
About Inecobank
Founded in 1996, Inecobank CJSC is one of the leading banks in the South Caucasus region, focused on individual customers, small and middle market enterprises, and large corporations, offering a full range of banking services including breakthrough and innovative digital banking solutions. For over 24 years the bank has been providing unmatched convenience in Armenia by serving more than 500,000 customers and over 250,000 online users. Inecobank developed and delivered industry-leading digital banking solutions with the purpose of introducing an entirely new culture of banking services.
About MEF
Microfinance Enhancement Facility (MEF) was initiated in 2009 by KfW Entwicklungsbank (“KfW”) and International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group as a joint intiative with OeEB (the Development Bank of Austria). Incofin IM is an Investment Advisor to the fund. MEF supports economic development and prosperity globally through the provision of additional development finance to micro-enterprises, via qualified financial institutions. In pursuing its development goal, MEF observes principles of sustainability and additionality, combining development and market orientations.
About Incofin IM
Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM) is a global independent impact investment company, focused on rural and agricultural finance. Driven by a desire to promote inclusive progress, Incofin strives to provide the support entrepreneurs’ needs in order to improve to lives of the less privileged people. Incofin IM is an AIFM licensed fund manager and has over EUR 1 billion in assets under management. Incofin has a team of more than 60 professionals spread over the headquarters in Belgium and local investment offices in Cambodia, Colombia, India and Kenya.
