Incorporation and licensing of a non-bank financial institution (NBFI) in Albania

The Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) was created in 2009 by the Albanian American Enterprise Fund with the support and encouragement of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Government. AADF is a not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees and operates entirely in Albania. AADF’s Board of Trustees has approved a project to increase financial inclusion in Albania among marginalized groups, particularly women, by implementing a microfinance model based on the Grameen Bank approach implemented by Grameen Trust.

Grameen Trust was established in 1989 by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus to meet the growing demand for learning about and following the Grameen Bank approach for poverty alleviation. Its mission is to undertake programs that help eradicate poverty. It supports, promotes, and implements poverty-focused microfinance, social business, and other programs worldwide and provides training, technical assistance, and financial support to microfinance programs and social business projects.

Operations of this microcredit program will be performed by a new entity, to be incorporated in the form of a joint stock company fully owned by AADF as its sole shareholder (the “New Company”), duly licensed by the Bank of Albania in accordance with Albanian legislation. The organizational structure will include a supervisory board for strategic oversight, composed of members from AADF and Grameen Trust. The New Company will be monitored by AADF and through on-site and remote monitoring by Grameen Trust.

The New Company must secure all required licenses and permissions to operate within Albania’s legal framework, allowing it to provide microfinance services responsibly and sustainably. Upon licensing by the Bank of Albania, the New Company will begin its operations and Grameen Trust will support management of the New Company, including through staff (2–3 employees) seconded from Bangladesh to the New Company.

AADF seeks a company (the “Consultant”) to prepare and execute all necessary legal and financial procedures for the incorporation of the New Company and its licensing by the Bank of Albania.