MINA is a microfinance organization that has been active in Mongolia since October 2000. Their vision is to reduce poverty in Mongolia. The reason for this was the perceived difficulties poor people have in accessing financial services, and a lack of knowledge of how to handle finances. It was very difficult for them to use the services of banks and financial institutions in previous years. At that time, the interest on a loan was 20% per month!
New developments
The objectives of the MINA Cooperative is to develop better ways to help their target group financially. The Savings and Credit Cooperative is now a tried and tested mechanism. Compared to banks and other financial institutions, it is a better model for poor people to support each other.
The second component is MINA NGO, a donor-funded organization. The main activities are training, consultancy and cooperation. With the ABC Financial Literacy training project, MINA has trained about 1,000 people in the various provinces, but also in the capital Ulaanbaatar. MINA is currently expanding its scope: they want to train urban residents, rural farmers and herders and help them to get out of poverty by setting up a stable business or making their existing businesses more profitable.
Partnership MINA and MBC
The objective of MBC Foundation (MBC) and the MINA NGO is to train a team of employees in Mongolia and establish their own Business Training Center alongside their microfinance activities. MINA believes that the MBC method of training and coaching potential entrepreneurs to generate income complements their activities and the development of communities in Mongolia. It will tailor these activities to the communities MINA already works with, and it will create new opportunities for those in need, starting businesses for themselves and their families.