http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/tajikistan/hypermail/news/0006.shtml
TAJIKISTAN DAILY DIGEST - July 9, 2004
From: Sophie Mathiaut (smathiaut@sorosny.org)
Date: Wed Jul 07 2004 - 11:20:31 EDT
Prince Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Ismaili movement, opened the first microcredit bank in Dushanbe on 5 July, Asia Plus-Blitz reported. Noting that the bank is intended to combat poverty in Tajikistan, Prince Aga Khan said that it will have an investment fund of $3 million and will provide loans to small businesses at 18 percent annual interest. The bank is only the third of its kind in the region; others are located in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Prince Aga Khan also met with Tajik President Rakhmonov on 5 July, Tajik Radio reported. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has worked in Tajikistan since 1993. According to Asia Plus, AKDN provided Tajikistan with $32.3 million in assistance last year. DK