USAID’s Grants Restore Looted Businesses in Bishkek
In March 2006, USAID completed its six-month Looted Business Loan Support Program (LBLS) that facilitated the recovery of businesses that were either looted or suffered the consequences of looting during the March 2005 civil disturbances in Bishkek. The program was implemented by the USAID Enterprise Development Project (EDP) and administered by the Pragma Corporation.
The LBLS program was designed to encourage borrowers to use banking services and to leverage the grant amount through the conditionality of having to take a loan. The program disbursed $700,000 in grants, ranging from $300 to $5,000, to a total of 179 Kyrgyz businessmen and women. In conjunction with USAID grants, entrepreneurs received more than $2,222,000 in loans from one of the EDP’s fifteen partner financial lending institutions. Through a combination of grants and loans, the USAID program covered 67% of all losses that were reported by grantees. Over 70% of loans and grants were disbursed to retail businesses, the sector worst-hit by looters.
“The grant money was important for my business recovery, and the U.S. Government was the only one who has provided any real support. As well as the financial support, the grant signifies something maybe even more important to me - moral support from the U.S. Government,” noted a LBLS beneficiary.
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USAID’s program helped this business (see above) recover from looting (below)
Photo Credit: E. Kolosova, S. Shirobokov |
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