Mega, Helvetas team up to help agro enterprises

KATHMANDU, OCT 18 -

Mega Bank Nepal has planned to provide micro credit to people involved in agriculture in eight districts of the Tarai. It signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday with Helvetas, Swiss Intercooperation Nepal, to implement the financing programme jointly. The scheme will be implemented in Rautahat, Sarlahi, Bara, Parsa, Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur.  

Mega Bank CEO Anil Shah and Helvetas country director Shiva Prashad Aryal signed the MoU representing their respective organisations. As per the arrangement, Mega Bank will provide micro credit and other access to finance while Helvetas will provide technical services and vocational training to the targeted groups.

Shah said that his bank took the initiative in order to ensure sustainable growth of agro-based enterprises creating self-employment. “Based on our corporate vision of ‘economic empowerment through financial inclusion’, we have been implementing micro banking services with top priority,” said Shah. “Our association with Helvetas will help us deliver quality banking services and bring rural farmers and small entrepreneurs into our banking channel.”

Helvetas has been implementing ELAM projects since 2004 with the aim of helping rural farmers by engaging them in agro enterprises. Aryal said that the partnership with Mega would make the project very ideal.

“After this partnership, we will be using value chain model in agriculture to ensure agricultural market,” he added.

Mega Bank has made a similar alliance with Practical Action to provide financial services to dairy-based farmers at Dhading.