Leading the Banking Capacity Building Component, Connexus provided short- and long-term assistance to USAID’s $108 million Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) in partnership with Chemonics International. FAIDA worked to build a sustainable and inclusive financial sector that meets the needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises, ensuring that they have access to a diverse range of services at the micro, meso, and macro-levels, with an emphasis on expanding access to rural and agricultural areas.
Connexus provided leadership, direction, and technical support to enhance capacities of Afghanistan’s financial system support services and infrastructure, including bank, insurance, and microfinance associations. Connexus facilitated the link between the micro and meso levels of the financial system, primarily by working with microfinance institutions to expand access to rural and agricultural finance, as well as to strengthen support institutions, including the Afghanistan Banks Association (ABA), the Afghanistan Insurance Personnel Association (AIPA), the Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance (AIBF), the Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA), and the Microfinance Investment and Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA).
In addition to designing and leading capacity building activities and bank trainings, Connexus worked with local organizations to review and improve accounting systems and communication protocols, and guided government and central bank policy initiatives to ensure a robust, risk management-based financial and regulatory system for Afghanistan.