SMART MICROCREDIT MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION S.A "MICROSMART"

My name is Neoklis Stamkos and represent the first fintech microfinance institution in Greece. Presenting our project in brief:

• The company is established under the commercial name SMART MICROCREDIT MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION SOCIETE ANONYME and have the commercial name "MICROSMART"
• We have obtained our operation license from Bank of Greece as microfinance institution (https://www.bankofgreece.gr/en/main-tasks/supervision/supervised-institutions)
• The initial stakeholders are:

·        ABC Foundation from Albania, main shareholder of Fondi Besa Sh.A., one of the largest MFIs in the Balkans  

·        Balkan Fund for Economic Development from Bulgaria, until recently, shareholder of Mikrofond AD and

·        Neoklis Stamkos from Greece.

• We have launched our web site (www.microsmart.gr), from where we will process all loan application, since our goal is to be the first fintech microfinance institution, with a lot of human interaction to this (and not pure digital…).
• We are close to gain guarantees for our portfolio from European Investment Fund (EIF)

Vision Statement
Τo become a viable micro-finance micro-credit provider, providing the beneficiaries with the appropriate financial and other services in order to support their sustainable
development, economic and social integration, new skills development and finally to
contribute to the creation of new jobs in Greece

Mission Statement
1. Strengthen the economic activity of existing Small and Micro Enterprises, contributing to the creation of new jobs and sustainable development.
2. Promote the creation of new businesses by providing micro-loans to those who are
excluded and / or lacking funding opportunities and thereby contribute to their economic development and social integration.
3. Provide Business Development Services aiming at the sustainable development of the beneficiaries and the creation of measurable social footprint

Goals

The objectives for the operation of MICROSMART are created using the S.M.A.R.T. philosophy. This means that they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-oriented.

Specific:

·        Provide loans of up to € 25.000 to new and existing micro and small entrepreneurs.

·        Provide leasing products up to € 25.000 to SMEs

·        Provide letters of guarantees for various reasons (except new lending) to SMEs

·        Disburse and manage a portfolio of € 7 mil. in 5 years (base scenario)

Measurable: MICROSMART in the next five years will

·        Approach over 1.500 small businesses, lend to circa 590 clients during first 5 years, and have a stable clientele of 600 active clients after year 5.

·        Make an impact in the local and regional economy uplift by creating at least 1 new jobs per loans and maintaining 1 jobs per loan.

·        Become an operationally sustainable organization in year 2.

·        Training for 1.000 business projects in year 1 and 5.000 business in 5 years

·        Counselling for 100 business during year 1 and 500 in the 5 years

·        Total costs covered by commercial services.

 Achievable: Establishing the Microfinance Institution by exploiting in 300.000 non bankable SMEs using public records and existing network of key players in the business community.

Realistic: Build the loan portfolio and its capacity as a Microfinance Institution by exploiting its current qualified staff as well as constant trainings. Loan portfolio and disbursements is based on permanent market survey and client needs monitoring.  

Time oriented:

·        Short term: disburse and manage a portfolio of €7 mil. during 5 years,

·        Medium term: enter Greek stock exchange ATHEX market by listing MICROSMART in Alternative Market EN.A Step, after year 4

·        Long term: manage a stable portfolio of € 20 mil. until the end of 2029.

Strengths

·     Innovative products and services for the Greek market (combination of credit and BDS)

·     First mover in the market

·     Stakeholders have long experience in the sector, being the biggest in the Balkan area

·     Stakeholders are active members of the biggest network of microfinance institutions in Europe - Microfinance Centre (MFC)

·     Strong position and capacity already built (due to technical assistance from EU - JASMINE, EaSI) and activities already in progress

·     Management team has 15 years of experience in management of Structural Funds and SMEs evaluation

·     Strong support for micro-finance from the European Institutions (EaSI Programme)

·     Fast financial services: (time to cash - 7 days, time to yes - 5 days, 4 days for analysis and one day for credit committee decision)