For more than 60 years, various agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network have offered microfinance services through integrated development programmes and self-standing microfinance institutions.
For more than 60 years, various agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) have offered microfinance services through integrated development programmes and self-standing microfinance institutions. AKDN institutions offered savings groups and revolving housing loans as early as the 1950s.
AKAM draws on over 60 years of experience of the AKDN in the delivery of microfinance products and services through integrated development programmes and self-standing microfinance institutions. AKAM was established in 2005 as a non-profit Swiss foundation by His Highness the Aga Khan to formalise microfinance initiatives within AKDN and transform these initiatives into sustainable, regulated financial institutions.
Since the 1950s different AKDN entities and programmes have promoted microfinance and financial inclusion through integrated development programmes and various rural and economic development initiatives. In the 1980s and 1990s AKDN established Rural Support Programmes and Mountain Societies Development Programmes in South and Central Asia that promoted community-based financial services and savings and credit groups.
Over the last ten years, AKAM portfolio and client outreach has risen by over 30 percent annually. Over 3 million loans worth $2 billion have been disbursed. In addition, its savings and deposits have grown by more than 35 percent annually.
The world of financial inclusion is changing rapidly today, with major new entrants, including social media companies, disruptive technology service providers, peer-to-peer networks, telecommunications companies, and commercial banks, amongst others.
The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance serves as the umbrella organization for the broader microfinance and inclusive finance activities of the Aga Khan Development Network. The AKDN has integrated financial inclusion into many areas of work across multiple member agencies over the past 60 years.
Additional information on the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) may be obtained by contacting the institution.
