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Since its inception in
1990 as a company not for profit under the Company’s Act 1913 as
amended, PKSF has been significantly contributing to poverty alleviation
by providing microcredit to the poor through its Partner Organizations
(POs). As of June 2000 PKSF disbursed a total amount of Tk. 7937 million
to 2.13 million poor borrowers through 177 POs, which include small and
big NGOs including BRAC, ASA and Proshika and Ansar VDP Bank. Ninety
percent of PKSF beneficiaries are female. PKSF has been able to maintain
a loan recovery rate above 98 percent. The microcredit program of PKSF
has been found to have improved the quality of life of poor people;
helped diversification and strengthening of their survival strategies;
enhanced their security giving them access to assets and rights and
augmented their self-respect providing them choice and independence.
The World Bank, through
the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) provided US$ 105 million for credit
and technical assistance to PKSF under Poverty Alleviation Microfinance
Project (PAMFP) to finance its microcredit program. PKSF was able to
utilize this fund six months ahead of the project closing date. PKSF
needs more fund to finance the increasing demand of microcredit in rural
and urban areas and for covering the hardcore poor and financing more
growth oriented and employment promoting microenterprise activities of
the poor.
In this context, the
GOB requested the World Bank to provide further assistance to PKSF
through a second project to implement its microcredit program in an
expanded and diversified form. The World Bank responded to GOB request
and fielded a mission, which undertook a very intensive and detailed
pre-appraisal of the proposed Second Poverty Alleviation Microfinance
Project (Microfinance II). Having been satisfied with the findings of
the pre-appraisal, World Bank waived the appraisal of the project and
decided to go for negotiations directly. |
