Supporting financial inclusion in Iraq

Vitas Iraq is the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in Iraq. Since it was set up in 2003, it has demonstrated its capacity to serve a growing client base in a large part of Iraq, despite a particularly volatile context. With a loan portfolio of USD 90m and over 60% of market share, it has already served over 375,000 clients and claims to have indirectly created some 80,000 jobs.

Vitas Iraq benefits from strong financial and operational support from CHF International, an American NGO, and from its subsidiary dedicated to microfinance operations, Vitas Group, which is well known to Proparco as its Lebanese and Palestinian subsidiaries are clients of Proparco. Vitas Group has the largest MFI network in the Middle East and longstanding experience in the sector. The Group has disbursed over USD 3.3bn of credit since 2004 for over 1.1 million clients.

With this EUR 3.5m ARIZ SME portfolio guarantee denominated in USD (~ USD 3.95m), covering 80% of the final loss on the underlying microcredits, Proparco is supporting the growth in the MSME segment of Vitas Iraq.

This project is allowing Vitas Iraq to improve its post-Covid-19 situation and maintain its support to Iraqi MSMEs, which make up the majority of companies in the country. 

Through this guarantee, EUR 5.5m of investments will be injected in the private sector, 315 jobs will be created and 105 companies will be supported.