Partner Microcredit Foundation (Partner) is a multiethnic, inter-entity organization with 44 offices covering all of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). As of June 30, 2008, Partner has a gross portfolio outstanding of approximately 184 million KM, 257 employees, 159 loan officers, 59,682 active clients and 61,500 active loans. Mercy Corps began microcredit operations in Bosnia in April 1997, and then spun Partner off into its own organization in late 2000. Partner MKF provides services to microentrepreneurs both for registered and unregistered business activities. Partner's target population is rural women. Currently, Partner has the leading position in the microfinance sector with 19% market share in terms of active clients in BiH.

Partner’s mission is to provide accessible financial services to the economically active population with no access to the commercial financing sources necessary for the start up of new or improvement of existing businesses and improvement of quality of life. One of Partner’s main roles is to assist in creation of new workplaces; so far Partner has created over 60,000 new workplaces, while over 200,000 workplaces have been sustained, thanks to loans from Partner.

Partner MKF plans to introduce a mentorship program to its clients, as a value-added service to complement regular loans. Thus far, they have conducted market research with other NGOs, and have conducted a focus group with existing clients. Partner plans to develop a mentorship program in the summer of 2008, and begin a year of pilot testing in September 2008. In addition, Partner plans to participate in a worldwide Mercy Corps effort, funded by the World Bank, engaging in controlled studies on which components of youth programming (e.g. training, loans, mentorships) provide the most impact.

SEEP PLP for Youth and Workforce Development

Selma Cilimkovic
selma.c@partner.ba