Type Joint Stock Company Founded 2006 | Industry Development Finance Headquarters Berlin, Germany | |
Key people Thomas Engelhardt
Chairman Products Equity Finance
Management Services | ||
Access Microfinance Holding AG, often referred to as AccessHolding, is a commercial microfinance investment and holding company based in Germany. AccessHolding specializes in start-ups and early-stage microfinance institutions (MFIs). It will establish new MFIs together with other partners, and transform existing non-bank microlending institutions into full-service microfinance banks.
Contents
Overview
AccessHolding is an investor and technical manager in a network of microfinance banks in developing and emerging countries. These banks specifically target their lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, in the countries that they serve. As of June 2014, the company had eight microfinance banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus. At that time, the group banks' total assets were valued at approximately €1 billion, with shareholders' equity of about €170 million.
History
The company was founded in August 2006 by LFS Financial Systems GmbH (LFS). LFS is a German business and financial consulting firm based in Berlin. It has special expertise in developing and emerging markets. It serves as the manager and technical advisor to the company as well as to the banks in which AccessHolding invests. The company is registered as a "joint stock company" under German law; with a paid-up capital of €27.8 million. As of December 2013, AccessHolding has created a total of eight microfinance banks in Azerbaijan, Madagascar, Tanzania, Nigeria, Liberia, Tajikistan, Zambia and Rwanda.
AccessBank Group
The member banks of the AccessBank Group include the following:
- AccessBank Azerbaijan - Baku, Azerbaijan - Total Assets:US$597.4 million (2012) (16.5% shareholding)
- AccessBank Madagascar - Antananarivo, Madagascar - Total Assets:US$39.1 million (2012) (55.2% shareholding)
- AccessBank Tanzania - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Total Assets:US$55.3 million (2012) (52.7% shareholding)
- AB Microfinance Bank Nigeria - Lagos, Nigeria - Total Assets:US$42.2 million (2012) (50.1% shareholding)
- AccessBank Liberia - Monrovia, Liberia - Total Assets:US$24.3 million (2012) (55.6% shareholding)
- AccessBank Tajikistan - Dushanbe, Tajikistan - Total Assets:US$23.4 million (2012) (63.4% shareholding)
- AB Bank Zambia - Lusaka, Zambia - Total Assets:US$8.3 million (2012) (51.0% shareholding)
- AB Bank Rwanda - Kigali, Rwanda - Total Assets:US$5.54 million (2013) (50.5% shareholding)
Ownership
As of December 2013, the company stock is privately owned by the following corporate entities: