ACTIVITY DATES: July 2007 - June 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Russian Microfinance Center (RMC)

REGION(S): Chitinskaya oblast, Kabardino-Balkariya Republic, Khabarovskiy kray, Khanty-Mansiyskiy autonomous okrug, Krasnodarskiy kray, Krasnoyarskiy kray, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, Rostovskaya oblast, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Volgogradskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project supports cooperation between banks and microfinance institutions, and the development of branchless banking technologies using GSM banking and E-net banking capacities, in order to improve the distribution of financial services to start-up businesses, microfinance sector organizations, and a wide range of low income populations in Russia's regions, with a special focus on activities in the North Caucasus.

Microfinance is a key factor in the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are essential for private sector development, poverty alleviation, and the creation of employment in Russia. However, the supply of financing is not meeting the demand-especially in rural and smaller urban areas, as well as the critical regions of the North Caucasus (NC) and the Russian Far East (RFE) where the formal financial system is underdeveloped. This project aims to build the capacity of the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) and the National Partnership of Microfinance Market Stakeholders (NAMMS), and expand their reach in the NC and RFE regions to help create long-term job and income opportunities for people there, thus mitigating the possibility of conflict.

Through activities targeted at the RMC's network of 800 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and 85,000 entrepreneurs, the project will support the development of branchless banking; introduce new distant learning models and models to combat microfinance market abuse and money laundering; support financial literacy for SMEs and low-income households, with a special focus on the Southern Federal District and NC; and promote microfinance standards through publications, conferences and seminars.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

RMC set up a NC regional office in Kabardino-Balkaria. Twenty-five credit cooperatives and funds for SME support in the NC have received training.

A new department on Perspective Financial Technologies was established in January 2008 at the Higher School of Privatization and Entrepreneurship (HSPE) to provide education in the area of microfinance, branchless banking, and financial literacy, as well as to conduct research into new financial technologies. The new department will reach Russian regions through HSPE branches in Perm Kray, Samara Oblast, Rostov Oblast, and St.-Petersburg.

RMC assisted the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation to develop recommendations for supporting regional programs of microfinance and credit cooperatives, and a project to support ratings of Russian MFIs was jointly launched with the Ministry of Economic Development. NAMMS and the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) agreed to collaborate on developing microfinance and the small business sector in Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.

In the past year, several national events were also organized: the 7^th National Conference on Microfinance in Russia: New Technologies of Success (St. Petersburg, 19-21 November 2008); the 6^th National Forum on Legal Affairs of Micro-finance (St.Petersburg, 19 November 2008); and the Russian Microentrepreneurship Awards, in association with Citigroup (St. Petersburg, 20 November 2008).

ACTIVITY DATES: January 2008 - January 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Winrock International

REGION(S): Khabarovskiy kray, Primorskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The LIDER program (using the Russian acronym for Leadership, Initiative, Action, Unity, and Results) strives to link young people in Khabarovskiy and Primorskiy Krais more directly to their communities and to boost their participation in local governance and advocacy, especially around issues of health and social well-being.  LIDER contributes to the positive development of Russia's next generation by strengthening local NGOs, establishing sustainable partnerships, fostering youth activism and participation, and replicating effective youth-friendly services and outlets.  The program includes youth in all stages of design and implementation through Youth Advisory Councils.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The LIDER program was launched in Khabarovsk in April 2008 with the participation of more than 100 representatives from youth organizations, the regional administrations, and the media. Youth Advisory Committees have been formed in each of the pilot regions.

Assessments among youth in the pilot regions were conducted that identified the following as key priorities for engagement: economic well-being, active lifestyles, health, love, happy family life, and interesting work.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 1999 - December 2008

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: ACDI/VOCA

REGION(S): Sakhalinskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project helps to create and sustain private businesses and jobs through training and consultations.  It offers non-bank financing at competitive, market-based interest rates to support local businesses.  It also develops and promotes new business models, such as collection, processing and marketing of non-timber forest products.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The Sakhalin Microfinance Program has established the benchmark for small business lending on Sakhalin. Versions of the Sakhalin Credit lending program have been implemented by commercial banks and a strong competitive market for small business loans has been established in major cities of Sakhalin.

Under this project, two financially sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been created: Sakhalin Small Enterprise Development Foundation (SSEDF) and Sakhalin Small Business Credit Cooperative (SSBCS). Furthermore, a network of six branch offices each serve, on average, 450 active clients of whom 55% are women.  In 2005, SSEDF established a subsidiary, the Sakhalin Wild Natural Resources, LLC. 

The success of the program has also mobilized additional funding ($750,000) through two GDA's with the major oil & gas operators on the island (Exxon Neftegaz Ltd. and SakhEnergy Investment Corporation), thus combining the strategic interests of US Government foreign assistance with those of US businesses investing in Sakhalin.  In 2006-07, Sakhalin Energy (Shell) contracted SSEDF to review and write a detailed Vendor Development Program complete with procedures.  Additional loan capital, exceeding $3 million, leveraged through local commercial banks and a participation program in which the bank and MFI share a percentage of the loan implemented.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2007 - September 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Foundation for Russian American Economic Cooperation (FRAEC)

REGION(S): Amurskaya oblast, Irkutskaya oblast, Kamchatskaya oblast, Khabarovskiy kray, Primorskiy kray, Sakhalinskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The U.S.-Russian Far East (RFE) Municipal Partnership Program builds on the momentum of local self-governance reform in Russia and uses international and domestic best practices in municipal governance.  The program seeks to transform local self-governance in the RFE into a viable component of open and participatory society by supporting new and existing city-to-city partnerships between motivated U.S. cities in Washington and Alaska and cities in the RFE.  The program develops and disseminates social and economic development practices, and works to institutionalize public administration skills among current and future government officials.

The Partnership Program aims to accomplish the following objectives:

• Increase policy development capacity among local and regional officials responsible for local governance, promoting decision-making that is consensus oriented, transparent, equitable, and based upon the rule of law;
• Bolster citizen participation in local self-governance and provide communities with skills and practices to manage their resources more effectively;
• Strengthen the capacity of local government in the RFE to effectively manage financial, human, and physical resources to improve their cities and the lives of their citizens; and
• Advance best practices in effective, equitable, and efficient delivery of public services to establish the practice of local public service management in the RFE regions.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

FRAEC conducted an assessment of the previous Alaska-RFE CityLinks Program, implemented by International City/County Management Association (ICMA), and proposed three partnerships for continued support: Ussuriisk-Wasilla, Bolshoy Kamen-Kenai, and Nevelsk-Anchorage.  The follow-on support targets joint economic development projects.

Through an open competition, FRAEC then identified 11 RFE municipalities for participation in a new U.S.-RFE city-to-city partnerships designed to introduce modern social and economic development models and practices.  The selected municipalities include: Khabarovsky municipal raion, Sovetskaya Gavan, Elizovo, Slavyanka, Ussuriisk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Artem, Voszhaevsky, Belogorsky, Paratunskoe, and Ussolsky.  FRAEC then selected cities in Washington State and Alaska to partner with these RFE municipalities on joint projects to improve their cities.

Together with two Russian partners - the Institute for Urban Economics in Moscow and the Far East Center for Social Innovation in Khabarovsk - FRAEC has trained hundreds of municipal employees, provided consultations to municipal leaders on citizen engagement and social and economic development.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2005 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Center for Civic Initiatives "Development"

REGION(S): Kamchatskaya oblast, Khabarovskiy kray, Magadanskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, Sakhalinskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project is designed to: 1) develop the capacity of teachers on topics such as democracy, civic society, citizen participation, and citizen influence on political processes; 2) increase interaction among NGOs, educational institutions and government bodies in order to advance civic education in the Russian Far East; and 3) increase informational exchanges among teachers, students and other interested parties to facilitate the sharing and distribution of civic education resources and materials across regions.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The project has increased the availability of civic education resources in remote regions of the Russian Far East.

In particular, the Center "Development" has:

• Involved 29,220 young people , 6,845 educators and 1,252 government representatives in program activities.
• Conducted training events on the development and implementation of social projects for 2,343 youth representatives and 1,099 educators.
• Involved 12,592 school and university students, 3,096 educators and 665 government representatives from selected regions in educational events on the development of civic competence.
• Conducted 30 seminars on civic education and citizen participation for 1,184 teachers and educators, who then applied their new knowledge and skills in civic lessons for 9,795 students.
• Launched the Civic Competence web portal http://www.civitas-er.org/, which makes civic education resources more accessible to educators and community leaders; 156 materials have been published on the site so far.
• Conducted a small-grants program that enabled the implementation of 59 grassroots projects designed to involve young people in improving their communities;
• Contributed to the development of the NGO sector in small towns and rural areas in selected regions, with a focus on Primoriye and Khabarovsk..