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The Association of Social Advancement (ASA) Microfinance Tanzania began its operations in 2014. ASA Tanzania is a subsidiary of ASA International, one of the world’s largest microfinance companies, originating from Bangladesh. ASA Tanzania provides small, socially responsible, for-profit loans to low-income entrepreneurs, primarily women. The microfinance institution grants these loans using the solidarity group-based microfinance methodology of the ASA model.
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country of 69 million inhabitants located in East Africa. Tanzania is a culturally and geographically diverse country, stretching over more than 1,000 km, bordered by eight other countries, and home to the most populous city in East Africa: the port city of Dar es Salaam. Agriculture remains the main source of employment, with two out of three Tanzanians working in this sector. Nevertheless, due to rapid urbanization, 37% of Tanzanians now live in cities. Poverty is estimated at 51% of the population, based on the international threshold of $3 per day in purchasing power parity (PPP).
ASA Tanzania focuses on the socio-economic improvement of low-income micro-entrepreneurs, primarily women over the age of 18, who earn approximately 3 to 5 dollars per day. This category of clients within the community generally lacks access to credit from traditional banks to start or expand their businesses. Most of them work in the services, trade, manufacturing, and small-scale agriculture sectors, mainly in urban and semi-urban areas.
