FINCA Kosovo Achieves Smart Certification for Client Protection

January 25, 2017, Pristina and Washington, DC – Today, FINCA Kosovo, the country’s largest microfinance organization, announced it received the Client Protection Certification by Smart Campaign. This official recognition required an in-depth, external review of all of FINCA Kosovo’s processes and policies. The positive results of this review reflect FINCA’s deep commitment to high ethical standards in the treatment of its clients. FINCA Kosovo joins a group of over 60 certified financial institutions, including FINCA Kyrgyzstan and FINCA Bank Georgia.

“The Certification from Smart Campaign reflects the deeply-held commitment of FINCA to treating clients fairly,” said Florin Lila, CEO of FINCA Kosovo. “We are honored that our progress in implementing client-centric standards and policies is being recognized.”

Smart Campaign is a global effort to embed a set of client-protection principles into the fabric of the microfinance industry. This Certification is awarded to financial organizations that institutionalize the Smart Campaign’s seven Client Protection Principles, which include: appropriate product design and delivery, prevention of over-indebtedness, transparency, responsible pricing, fair and respectful treatment of clients, privacy of client data, and mechanisms for complaint resolution.

FINCA has been serving individuals and small businesses in Kosovo for over 16 years. Lower-income customers can access responsible financial products across a 21-branch network, including individual loans, SME loans for rural and agricultural markets. Recently, FINCA Kosovo adopted an Agricultural Loan Appraiser, a tablet-based app that assesses creditworthiness of farmers and their households, designs loans to match clients’ cash flows, and strengthens decision-making based on state-of-the-art credit summaries.

Isabelle Barrès, Director of Smart Campaign, said, “Congratulations to FINCA Kosovo for pursuing the highest ethical standards and leading the sector in client protection. This certification sends a strong message to the people of Kosovo that FINCA is a responsible provider of financial services.”

About FINCA Kosovo

FINCA Kosovo is a microfinance institution providing innovative financial services to more than 14,000 clients through 22 branches nationwide. With a loan portfolio of more than EUR 23 million at the end of October 2016, FINCA Kosovo is part of the global FINCA microfinance network, serving over 1.6 million clients in 21 countries, with a double bottom line of financial sustainability and social performance. For more information, visit http://kosovo.finca.org.

About FINCA

FINCA Impact Finance is a network of 20 microfinance institutions and banks that provide socially responsible financial services that enable low-income individuals and communities to invest in the future. The majority owner of the network is FINCA International, a microfinance and social enterprise leader dedicated to creating economic inclusion for the poor. Follow us on Twitter @FINCAImpact.