Countries
Indonesia, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh

Local Project Partners
MFIs, community based financial organisations (CFO), Associations (i.e. LASCU and NEFSCUN), Central Banks, universities and a fintech,
from 04/2025 similar organization in Indonesia, in the course of 2026 similar partners from Mongolia will be added

German Project Partners 
Sparkasse Essen
Sparkasse Lörrach-Rheinfelden
Kreissparkasse Ludwigsburg

Donor
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)

Duration
01.05.2024 - 30.09.2027

In the partner countries Bangladesh, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, and Vietnam limited institutional capacity, insufficient access to needs-based financial services, and the impacts of climate change hinder sustainable rural development and economic participation. The project addresses these challenges by strengthening financial institutions, associations, regulatory bodies, and educational institutions; promoting sustainable and digital financial services; and building financial, entrepreneurial, and environmental competencies among staff and target groups. The goal is the socio-ecological transformation of the financial sector toward efficient, inclusive, and climate-resilient structures. This is intended to provide women, microenterprises, agricultural businesses, and young people in particular with better income and employment prospects and to make them more resilient to economic and climate-related risks.

Tasks
To achieve these goals, the following measures in particular will be implemented:

• Project partners will be strengthened through the introduction of modernized IT systems and paperless customer processes
• Establishment of trainer pools and training structures in Indonesia, Nepal, and Vietnam (using business games and MFI management simulations); long-term integration of practical training programs
• Sustainable financing approaches and new service offerings will be developed and piloted (e.g., small-scale ecological production in Laos, use of electric mobility)
• New partners in Nepal, Indonesia, and Vietnam will be integrated; regional project structures will be harmonized through knowledge transfer, common standards, peer learning, and standardized monitoring tools
• Planned: Expansion of the regional project to the Philippines and exploration of opportunities for cooperation with the German business sector