Baku, October 9-10, 2014. Asian Credit Fund (ACF) participated in Microfinance Conference of Azerbaijan Microfinance Association named “Innovative practices to reach financial inclusion: Learning from peers’ experiences” to share the company practical experience in energy efficiency lending.
Mr. Usenov, the Business Development
Director of ACF presented the two-year company results in lending for energy efficiency for rural houses in Kazakhstan. Mr. Usenov noted that while during the last three years Kazakhstan had been promoting energy efficiency agenda country wide, the most of government attention was directed to the issues of big plants and residential multi-store buildings in urban areas. ACF picked up on the gap to provide rural houses with an opportunity to increase their energy efficiency by getting funding from ACF’s special lending program, supported by USAID and Habitat International. $840,000 in loan disbursement made by ACF resulted in improving living conditions of 299 rural households. 58% of loan proceeds were used for insulation and 42% for improving the heating system. Program implementation resulted in saving 269 tons of coal which in turn resulted in 471 tons less of carbon emission. To prove results ACF used clients’ survey and carbon dioxide emission equation according to the direction of the International Panel on Climate Change UN. Currently ACF is considering what can be done next for brining the energy efficiency lending to the new stage of business development. The goal is performed by testing ideas from ACF employees – fellows of USAID Community Links Program who had been recently visiting Baltimore city, State of Maryland to learn from USA experience in the energy efficiency field.