Abstract: The Voronezh Oblast State Fund for Small Business Support (hereafter referred to as ‘the Fund’) in cooperation with a multitude of partners started in 2009 to provide microfinance services and mobile banking for micro-and small businesses in the remote regions of Voronezh Oblast. The multi-stakeholder pilot model, which the Fund leads in its field operations, leverages innovative technologies – mobile banking and non-personalized plastic cards. The pilot was conducted in close cooperation with two national umbrella microfinance institutions (MFIs), a commercial bank, Visa International, and regional and local authorities. The Fund was established in 1998 as a legal entity of the regional government in charge of small business development. Click here to read more…
