Balkan microfinance institutions among Forbes top 50
By Andrea Vujosevic – Microenterprise Development Communications

Two microfinance institutions (MFI) from World Vision’s Middle East and Eastern Region (MEER) are ranked among the top 50 in the world according to the first ever list of MFIs compiled Forbes magazine. Click here to view the Forbes Ranking.

EKI in Bosnia Herzegovina ranked 14th while Agroinvest in Montenegro and Serbia ranked 22nd. In 2007 alone, EKI disbursed 38,000 loans amounting to $93 million USD. Of all disbursed loans, 45% went to agriculture development, 43% to small- and medium-range entrepreneurs and 12% to housing loans and improving living standards.

Agroinvest has an outstanding performance record and is the second largest MFI in the region. It disbursed 30,000 loans last year in the amount of $64 million USD. The MFI impacts the lives of more than 56,000 children every year through its integrated model, the Happy Child Project, where a percentage of each loan goes directly back into funds for the community. 

Currently there are 12,000 microfinance institutions in the world. To qualify for a ranking with Forbes magazine, the institutions had to pass a review conducted by a Forbes panel of advisers and turn over their audited financials. The rankings are based on the size of the gross loan portfolio of each MFI; efficiency, in terms of operating expenses and the cost per borrower as a percentage of the gross national income per capita; level of risk, measured as the percentage of the portfolio at risk greater than 30 days and return, on both equity and assets.