Cdel Arvand-FY24 (IFC-49123)

Countries
  • Tajikistan
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
May 1, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
CJSC BANK ARVAND
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 5.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 15, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Apr 4, 2024

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Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed Project consists of a straight senior loan to Closed Joint-Stock Company Bank “Arvand” – a private bank in Tajikistan, an IDA country, with a strong focus on lending to micro and small enterprises (MSEs). The three-year loan would provide much needed mid-term uncollateralized funding in Tajik Somoni (TJS or LCY) to Arvand to support the Bank in servicing the most vulnerable clients in the remote under-/ unbanked regions of Tajikistan. Out of the total loan proceeds, up to US$2.5 million will be dedicated to housing microfinance projects, up to US$1.25 million will be dedicated to women-owned MSEs (WMSEs), and up to US$1.25 million will be directed to support the Bank’s lending program to MSEs (the Project) in the challenging economic environment caused by the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, further exacerbated by the geopolitical tensions. As part of the BOP program, the Project will use IDA PSW’s Local Currency Facility (“LCF”) to source local currency, as well as the Pooled First Loss Guarantee (“PFLG”) from IDA PSW’s Blended Finance Facility (“BFF”). 

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Overall, the environmental and social risks of the Bank’s portfolio are low to medium. The project therefore has been categorized as FI-2 according to the IFC Sustainability Framework.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The proposed Project consists of a senior unsecured loan for the total amount of up to US$5 million in TJS with up to three-year maturity, including one-year grace period. 

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actor Relationship
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Founded in 2002 as the Centre for Development and Support of Microentrepreneurs, Arvand was part of a regional microfinance project conducted by Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/VOCA) in the Ferghana Valley in Central Asia. After transformation into a commercial bank in 2019, ACDI/VOCA remains the largest shareholder of Arvand with a 36.5% equity stake owned through its subsidiary LLC MCC Frontiers in Kyrgyzstan. Access Microfinance Holding AG owns a 21.6% equity stake in Arvand’s capital; Rural Impulse Fund II S.A. SICAV-SIF owns 17.5%, Triodos Sicav II and Legal Owner Triodos Funds B.V. own 21.4% shares of the Bank.     


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Closed Joint Stock Company Bank “Arvand”
Kahor Abdulloev
Director of Finance Department
+992927700283
kahor.abdulloev@arvand.tj
1A Ismoili Somoni Avenue Khujand City, Republic of Tajikistan
arvand.tj

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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How it works