Kabul – September 29, 2026 – the Microfinance Investment and Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) signed a Mudaraba agreement with the Islamic Bank of Afghanistan (IBA), a commercial bank. Under this agreement MISFA will provide AFN 200 million as Mudaraba capital for a period of two years to IBA.
MISFA’s funds will be matched with an equivalent amount from the IBA increasing the total financing pool to AFN 400 million and will be used to finance Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country.
Partnerships with commercial banks is part of MISFA’s strategy to address the SME financing gap arising from regulatory restrictions that limit microfinance institutions to providing no more than AFN1.5 million to such businesses. In addition, MISFA aims to encourage the commercial banks enter the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) financing sector, build their familiarity with this market, and mobilize their own resources to support its growth.
IBA is a well-established, private, commercial bank that began operations in 2009 when it was known as Bakhtar Bank. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of another private, commercial bank called Azizi Bank. The IBA provides a wide range of financial services, including savings accounts, domestic and international money transfers, payroll/salary payments, ATM and Debit Card Services, as well as client financing. It has nationwide coverage, employing more than 800 full-time staff across 45 branches.
MISFA is now supporting ten MFIs/Banks (OXUS-A, Mutahid, FMFB-AF, Ghazanfar Bank, Momin Afghan, Lamen, Shahy Khazana, Aurum, Hassel and IBA).
