First Microfinance Bank

The First MicrofinanceBank Ltd (FMFB) is the result of the transformation of the microfinance program of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP), with more than twenty years of experience, into a separate, specialised microfinance bank. In 1996, the AKRSP started to streamline its microfinance program separately, with the objective of creating a separate entity, capable of mobilising savings. FMBL has benefited from the long experience and transfer of key employees and technologies from AKRSP. The First MicrofinancefBank Ltd was established as a non-listed public limited company under the provisions of the Companies' Ordinance in November 2001 and licensed as a Microfinance Institution (MFI) under the provisions of the Microfinance Institutions Ordinance 2001 in January 2002. The main shareholders are the AKRSP (45.5%), the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (30.30%) and the IFC (24.2%). FMFB formally started operations in February 2002, taking deposits through its first branch in July 2002.