Press Release
U.S. Government Expands Micro-Credit Access in Western Georgia
August 2, 2000
Tbilisi--On Friday, August 4, at 4 p.m. in Batumi, at the new Constanta office at 20 Luka Asatiani Street, a ceremony will be held for the opening of a new Constanta micro-credit office in Batumi. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the development assistance agency of the U.S. government, the Constanta office will be opened by USAID/Caucasus Mission Director Michael Farbman and Constanta Director Tamara Lebanidze.
With USAID financing through Save the Children, the Constanta Foundation was established in January 1997 in order to provide access to micro-credit predominantly for Georgian women micro-entrepreneurs. In October 1999, USAID provided a two-year grant to Save the Children to assist Constanta in becoming a sustainable, micro-finance institution. In turn, Constanta will provide quality financial services to micro-entrepreneurs through three offices located in Tbilisi and Batumi.
Constanta now serves approximately 5,800 clients in Tbilisi using the Group Guarantee Lending Methodology with loans starting at 100 Lari for each client. Constanta is planning to serve 1,200 micro-entrepreneurs in Batumi by October 2000. The total number of clients in Tbilisi and Batumi is expected to reach 8,200 by October 2001.
In countries with developing economies such as Georgia, women typically have less access to productive and financial resources than men do. Because of this, USAID assistance includes Constanta and other programs that promote increased economic opportunities for women in Georgia. Women constitute more than 97% of Constanta’s clients.
For more information, please contact the Constanta Tbilisi office at 25-02-83 or the Constanta Batumi office at 20 Luka Asatiani Street.