Ekphatthana Microfinance Institution

Ekphatthana Microfinance Institution (EMI) is the first licensed microfinance institution to operate in Lao PDR under the government's Microfinance regulations that was issued in 2005and then updated in 2008. EMI was created as a private Lao company with a start-up capital of $100,000 USD from ten shareholders with a strong commitment to contribute to poverty alleviation in Laos in line with the government policy. It disbursed its first loan in April 2006. Preparation, licensing and staff recruitment took place between October 2005 and April 2006. As of December 2012, EMI employs over 70 staff, has over 10,000 clients and an accumulated loan disbursement of 90 billion kip (approximately USD11 Million) for 25,000 accumulative loans.