Outline of the Project

Project Name

Smallholder Families' Financial Inclusion Project in Albania

Country

Albania

Date R/D Signed

June 21, 2017

Project Site

The project will be implemented in all the regions where Fed invest (Implementing Agency) has the presence with branches.

Term of Cooperation

October 1, 2017 to June1, 2022

Implementing Organization

Ministry of Finance and Economy

Background

The Albanian economy is based on a large segment of the household's economies and entrepreneurships. Fourt-five % of its population lives in rural areas.

The agriculture sector has one of the strongest contributors to GDP. On the other hand, the scale of financial inclusion in Albania is low. Only 38% of people over the age of 15 have bank accounts in formal financial institutions, leaving many families without access to financial services.

In order to tackle this issue, JICA and the government of Albania have launched this project.

The Overall Goal

Livelihood of smallholder families in Albania is improved through financial inclusion.

Project Purpose

Financial inclusion of smallholder families in Albania has been expanded through improved usage of financial products and non-financial services offered by FED invest.

Output

1. Financial products developed or enriched through customer centric processes by FED invest start being utilized by its members.
2. Operation of the Agri Knowledge Centre, which provides non-financial services, is established at FED invest.
3. FED invest expands financial and non-financial services through procurement and implementation of a new Core Banking System, related hardware and digital technology.

Project Activities

1 Financial products developed or enriched through customer centric processes by FED invest start being utilized by its members.

1-1	Prepare and conduct demand survey.
1-2	Conduct pilot trials of new and improved financial products.
1-3	Establish a customer centric operations and management process, including product development cycle, at FED invest.

2 Operation of the Agri Knowledge Centre, which provides non-financial services, is established.

2-1	Discuss service contents, responsibilities and operations of the Agri Knowledge Centre, based on the data collected from the demand survey.

3 FED invest expands financial and non-financial services through acquisition and implementation of a new Core Banking System and related hardware and digital technology.

3-1	Plan details of the IT software and hardware upgrades based on the IT Strategy of FED invest, taking technological development in the near future into full account.
3-2	Procure necessary equipment and software for implementing the IT Strategy.
3-3	Conduct training for the staff members on the usage of the newly introduced IT software and hardware.
3-4	Plan and expand branchless banking operation to geographical areas where the branchless banking is newly introduced.
3-5	Introduce the management mechanism of the social performance data through newly introduced IT software and hardware.

Inputs

[Japanese side]

Experts x4

• Chief Advisor
• Financial Inclusion
• Agriculture-related non-financial services
• Needs assessment of smallholder families
• Coordinator / Training plans
• IT System analysis
• Other short term experts if necessary (such as IT expert and financial products experts)
  - Training in Japan, in third countries, and/or in Albania.
  - Provision of Equipment
• Provision of equipment and software for branchless banking.
• Provision of equipment for the Agri-unit and others.

Inputs

[Albanian side]

• Allocation of responsible Departments and personnel.
• Office space at FED Invest HQ and other branches as required.
• Operational costs.
• In-country training participation costs (e.g. travel costs, etc.)