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Project Overview
The microcredit programme is implemented in Skenderaj Municipality
in north-central Kosova. It was the centre of much of the
Serb aggression that took place at the end of the last decade.
Approximately 3,528 houses out of 8,518 were completely destroyed
or burned, the remainder suffered partial damage and only
687 escaped unscathed.
In addition, the region suffered extensive destruction to
its infrastructure and disruption to agriculture, the main
economic activity in the region. The bulk of the population
is works in agriculture on small family owned farms.
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Project Background
The microcredit programme began in April 2003 and is implemented
in Skenderaj Municipality in north-central Kosova.
The Municipality is home to approximately 65,000 people, almost
exclusively Kosovar Albanians and a place with a long history
of Albanian defiance of Serbian authority. As such it was
the centre of much of the Serb aggression that took place
at the end of the last decade.
The principal difficulty facing inhabitants in the Drenica
region is the lack of employment or sources of income. Providing
small loans allows them to initiate or expand business ventures
and create their own employment and sources of income.
Project Objectives
The aim of the project is to alleviate poverty through the
provision of microcredit to assist in the creation of income
and employment generation opportunities. It is hoped that
this will contribute to improving the economic, social, and
political welfare of borrowers, their families and the local
community.
Project Activities
Providing business loans, based on Islamic principles, to
the rural poor of the Drenica region in north central Kosova
in order that they can establish new or increase the size
of their existing microenterprise activities.
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During the first 15 months of operation,
the programme has disbursed over 500 loans. Loans are used
largely to finance the purchase of livestock and other agricultural
activities.
Beneficiaries
Vulnerable categories of the population. These include, inter
alia, returnees to pre-war homes, widows, and orphan families
from all ethnic groups as well as poor persons who would not
normally be able to accede to loans from formal financial
intermediaries.
Other Activities in the Country
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