USAID backs MFIs with $10m guarantee
USAID kicked off a seven-year program to guarantee over US$10 million in microfinance loans to the agricultural sector on September 20, as part of a new US effort to offer greater economic support to the country. The US development agency has signed a multi-bank loan portfolio guarantee with five local microfinance institution, which will cover 50 percent of their losses for loans that qualify for the program, Saskia Funston, a USAID development outreach and communications official, told The Myanmar Times. The program was announced on September 14 along with a statement from US President Barack Obama that the US would lift almost all remaining sanctions against Myanmar following a visit from State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
