Aqroinvest Credit Union

Data provided through Aqroinvest

Mission:

Aqroinvest`s mission is to contribute to the business development of the union members and vulnerable groups of people by demand-driven lending services with desirable depth, width and length of social outreach.

Background and Main Challenges:

Aqroinvest`s goal is:
To provide quality and quick service for our clients;
Attract international investments to increase our portfolio provide viable financial recourses;
Provide professional trainings to our staff members and improve their knowledge using in-house training ... Read more

Address:

Matbuat Avenue 2

Baku

Azerbaijan

Phone:

+994125106190

Fax:

+994125106190

Email:

aqroinvest [at] mail [dot] ru

Website:

www.aqroinvest.com

Main Funding Sources:

Grants

Loans

Shareholder Capital

Products and Services:

Loans

Products:

Agriculture
Trade
Production
Livestock

Services Provided:

Business Development Services

Other

Looking for (Investment Types):

Loans in US$

% Operations Comprised by MF:

41 - 50

Date established:

Jun 10 2001

FYE:

31-Dec

Current Legal Status:

Credit Union / Cooperative

Regulated:

yes

Social Performance Profile


+ Mission specifics
+ Target markets (ranked by importance)
Women	1
Other target market:	1
Clients living in rural areas	1
Clients living in urban areas	2
Adolescents and youth (below 18)	3
Int msg targetmothertext c	IDPs
+ Development goals (ranked by importance)
Gender equality and women's empowerment	1
Increased access to financial services	1
Growth of existing businesses	1
Poverty reduction	1
Development of start-up enterprises	1
Employment generation	2
Water and sanitation	3
Improvement of adult education	4
Housing	5
Youth opportunities	5
Children's schooling	5
Health improvement	5
+ Poverty targets
Very poor clients	1
Poor clients	1
Low income clients	1
+ Governance
Has trained members of its board on social performance management
+ Range of products and services
+ Financial products and services offered
+ Credit products offered
Microcredit loans for microenterprises	1
SME loans
Loans for agriculture	1
+ Savings products offered
+ Compulsory insurance products required
+ Voluntary insurance products offered
+ Other financial products and services offered
Mobile banking services	1
Savings facilitation services
+ Non-financial services offered
+ Enterprise services offered
Business development services	1
+ Education services offered
+ Health services offered
+ Women's empowerment services offered
Women's rights education/gender issues training	1
+ Products and services targeting the poor
Products and services specifically designed to target the poor:	Agriculture and livestock lending in distant rural villages and in IDP settlement to IDP`s with flexible loan conditions and appropriate grace periods.
+ Social responsibility to clients
+ Client protection principles in use
The loan approval process requires evaluation of borrower repayment capacity and loan affordability. Loan approval does not rely solely on guarantees (whether peer guarantees, co-signers or collateral) as a substitute for good capacity analysis.
Internal audits check household debt exposure, lending practices that violate procedures including unauthorized re-financing, multiple borrowers or co-signers per household, and other practices that could increase indebtedness.
Prices, terms and conditions of all financial products are fully disclosed to the customer prior to sale, including interest charges, insurance premiums, minimum balances, all fees, penalties, linked products, third party fees, and whether these can change over time.
Staff is trained to communicate effectively with all customers, ensuring that they understand the product, the terms of the contract, their rights and obligations. Communications techniques address literacy limitations (e.g. reading contracts out loud, materials in local languages).
Acceptable and unacceptable debt collection practices are clearly spelled out in a code of ethics, book of staff rules or debt collection manual.
The organization's corporate culture values and rewards high standards of ethical behavior and customer service.
A mechanism to handle customer complaints is in place, has dedicated staff resources, and is actively used. (Suggestion boxes alone are generally not considered adequate.)
Customers know how their information will be used. Staff explains how data will be used and seeks permission for use.
+ Cost of services to clients
Declining balance interest method
+ Social responsibility to staff
+ Human resources
Transparency on salary (a clear salary scale based upon market salaries)
Protection at work (safety, anti-harassment)
Equality (anti-discrimination, equal pay for men and women with equivalent skill levels)
+ Basis of staff incentives related to social performance
Ability to attract new clients from target market
Outreach to remote/rural communities
Outreach to women
Quality of interaction with clients based on client feedback mechanisms
Client retention/drop-out rate
Portfolio quality
+ Social responsibility to the environment
+ Poverty measurement tools in use
Grameen Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI)
USAID Poverty Assessment Tool (PAT)