Caucasus & Central Asia
Triple Jump Advisory Services has been working in the region since 2006 and has provided grants for technical assistance to 12 MFIs in 5 countries, including in 3 countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia -- where our partnerships are now completed. We currently have 3 active partnerships in Kosovo and Tajikistan .
Background
The Caucasus region has been characterized by conflict since the collapse of the Soviet Union. War between Armenia and Azerbaijan and civil wars in Georgia have resulted in hundreds of thousands of displaced people and many of the conflicts are now frozen rather than resolved. Central Asia is also in a post-Soviet era, with collapsed economies and emerging nations.
The microfinance sector in the region is diverse and includes hundreds of institutions, most of them small and relatively weak but often providing financial services in isolated, mountainous areas. There are also a number of large MFIs in most of countries, and they are are leading the trend in developing additional products such as remittances and insurance.
The greatest challenges faced by many institutions center around issues of good governance, agricultural lending, weak systems and, increasingly, foreign exchange risks.
