A remarkable event celebrating a longstanding partnership between Georgia’s leading non-banking financial institution and the FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank was held in Georgia.
The event was attended by Maurice Paulussen, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia, representatives of regulatory authorities, diplomatic corps, investors, partners and donor organizations.
The first part of the event was dedicated to overviewing the successful partnership between Crystal and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO). Archil Bakuradze, Chair of Crystal’s Supervisory Board, walked the audience through the interesting history of cooperation with FMO and noted that „Crystal’s long-standing partnership with FMO is a vivid example of how effective the financial services can be in empowering micro and small entrepreneurs and addressing climate change. We look forward to continuing and further deepening this collaboration”.
An important part of the event was the signing ceremony between Crystal and FMO of a new credit facility in the amount of USD 15 million. The document was signed by Crystal’s General Director, Ilia Revia and FMO Financial Institutions Manager, Ruhi Kosgun.
„We are delighted to foster our cooperation with FMO. This transaction will further solidify our strong partnership. The latest USD 15 million facility will help Crystal to support more entrepreneurs across the country and bring up overall funding from FMO to 35 million USD. FMO and Crystal’s relationship has also a trendsetter as it was first facility aimed at development of “green” (energy-efficient) portfolio which has grown to 20 mln GEL since then. We are delighted that added to increased funding level FMO’s continued and enhanced technical assistance program will further enhance our capabilities for even greater impact and organizational transformation into microbank“ states Ilia Revia, General Director of Crystal.
Ruhi Cosgun, Manager Financial Institutions ECA MENA said, “Crystal has been a trusted partner of FMO for several years now, and we are pleased to once again support them through this latest round of financing, which will be used to finance MSMEs across Georgia. By providing access to finance to historically underserved sectors, Crystal enables us to execute our strategic mission of supporting job creation and inclusive finance. We look forward to maximizing our joint impact together!”
FMO’s investment reflects its focus on fostering economic growth and improving living standards in emerging markets. By supporting institutions like Crystal, FMO aims to contribute to inclusive financial systems.
In the final part of the event, the Chair of Crystal’s Supervisory Board announced a new initiative. As he noted, starting from 2024, Crystal has established an award named after Jan Willem Hook, a representative of FMO a great friend and an avid supporter of the company, which will be handed over annually to three outstanding Crystal employees for exceptional customer care and support.
During the event, three employees were identified from the 2024 contest to become the first winners of the Jan Willem Award. The award was handed over by the Chair of Crystal’s Supervisory Board, Archil Bakuradze, and the children of Jan Willem Hook, specially invited in Georgia to attend the event.
About Crystal
On February 12, 2025, Crystal obtained a microbank license from the National Bank of Georgia
Prior to receiving a microbank license, the company operated in the Georgian financial market as a microfinance organization. Crystal met the license with the loan portfolio of GEL 532 million, more than 1000 members of staff in 48 branches and over 100 000 unique customers across the country.
The history of Crystal dates back to 1998, when internally displaced persons from Abkhazia founded a local non-profit organization – the Charity Humanitarian Center “Abkhazeti” and launched a pilot micro-lending program. The fund’s debt capital at that time was just USD 10 000. Over the course of almost 27 years, the organization has gone through a long journey, full of challenges and numerous achievements.
About FMO
FMO is the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a 50+ year proven track-record in empowering entrepreneurs to make local economies more inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: Agribusiness, Food & Water, Energy, and Financial Institutions. With a total committed portfolio of EUR ~13 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector development banks globally.
For more information: please visit www.fmo.nl