Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA)

What Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) does

MISFA is a development finance facility established in 2003 at the invitation of the Afghan government to coordinate pooled international donor funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs) operating in Afghanistan. It was the first facility of its kind, created explicitly to harmonize conflicting donor objectives in a post-conflict reconstruction context and to convert diverse donor mechanisms into streamlined, flexible support tailored to local priorities. The organization operates with a single-country mandate, headquartered at House # 21, Yaftaliyan St., Shahr-e-Naw, District 4, Kabul.

Its core product suite consists of Sharia-compliant Islamic financing instruments—Murabaha (a cost-plus markup sale) and Mudrabah (profit-sharing between capital provider and entrepreneur)—both approved by the Dar-ul-Ifta of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan in September 2022. These instruments are delivered through partner MFIs that distribute individual and group financing to underserved populations, rural communities, and SMEs. MISFA additionally runs the Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) program—a 24-month intervention delivering livestock, training, financial literacy, and basic education to ultra-poor rural women, with IFAD as a key funder. As of May 2026, the Islamic financing portfolio stood at AFN 4.65 billion across 69,105 active clients (44% women), with AFN 67,260 outstanding per borrower.

Commercially, MISFA is not a revenue-generating entity. End-borrower pricing is set by partner MFIs rather than MISFA, and the operating model is sustained by pooled international donor funding. Revenue mechanics are best characterized as development grant management and capital intermediation rather than commercial sales. The facility serves a deeply distributed long-tail of individual borrowers via a network of 15+ partner MFIs and banks (Mutahid, OXUS, FMFB, BMA, Wadan, COAR, Hamkari, Ghazanfar Bank, Azizi Bank, LAMEN, Hassel, MAMI, SKM and others), making customer-level concentration structurally low but creating high single-country, donor-dependent exposure at the facility level.

Name

Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA)

Legal name

Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan

Website

https://misfa.org.af

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MISFA is a 2003-founded, Afghan government-convened development finance facility that pools international donor funding and channels it, plus technical assistance, to a network of 15+ Afghan microfinance institutions offering Sharia-compliant Murabaha and Mudrabah financing, the TUP graduation program, and capital to underserved, women, and SME borrowers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Development Microfinance

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Shariah-compliant Financing Products (Murabaha, Ijara, Tawarruq, Istisna, Salam) (FSABAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM), National/Regional Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) (FSABAKAB)

Keywords

• Microfinance facility
• Islamic microfinance
• Donor coordination
• Development finance
• Sharia-compliant lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Kabul

HQ country

Afghanistan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Development Finance Facilitation: MISFA channels donor funding and technical assistance to microfinance institutions. As a facility established by the Afghan government and international donors, it operates to build Afghanistan's microfinance sector rather than generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MISFA is a development finance facility that pools funding from the Afghan government and international donors and channels it as funding agreements, technical assistance, and capacity building to microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Afghanistan. Its core offerings include Sharia-compliant Islamic financing products (Murabaha and Mudrabah, approved by the Dar-ul-Ifta of the Supreme Court) and the Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) program delivering livestock, training, and financial literacy to ultra-poor rural women. End-clients are reached through partner MFIs rather than directly.

Product overview

MISFA operates as a development finance facility that provides Islamic-compliant microfinance products and programs. The core offerings include Murabaha and Mudrabah financing products (approved by the Supreme Court's Dar-ul-Ifta in September 2022) and the Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) program, which delivers comprehensive support to ultra-poor populations through a combination of financial assistance, livestock, and training. MISFA channels funding and technical assistance to partner microfinance institutions across Afghanistan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Islamic Financing - Murabaha Murabaha is an Islamic-compliant financing product where the institution purchases goods and sells them to the client at a markup price, enabling interest-free microfinance transactions for underserved populations through partner MFIs.
• Islamic Financing - Mudrabah Mudrabah is a profit-sharing Islamic financing arrangement where one party provides capital and the other provides expertise, with profits shared according to an agreed ratio, offered through partner MFIs in Afghanistan.
• Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) Program A comprehensive program providing ultra-poor rural women with food allowances, free livestock, training in animal breeding and rearing, financial literacy, and basic education to lift them out of extreme poverty. Funded by IFAD under the Rural Microfinance and Livestock Support Programme (RMLSP).

Quantifiable outcome

• 69,105 active Islamic financing clients as of May 2026
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HasselcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 June 2026Funding agreement signed June 2026 - Hassel is a microfinance institution (MFI) specializing in agricultural and livestock financing.
• Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 August 2025Funding agreement signed August 2025 to cover operating costs of the association.
• Momin Afghan Microfinance Institution (MAMI)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 July 2025Funding agreement signed July 2025 - Momin Afghan Microfinance Institution is a partner MFI.
• Shahy Khazana Microfinance (SKM)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 July 2025Funding agreement signed July 2025 - Shahy Khazana Microfinance is a partner MFI.
• Mutahid Development Finance InstitutioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner development finance institution offering Murabaha and Mudrabah products across five provinces.
• OXUS NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance network in Afghanistan.
• FMFB (First MicroFinance Bank)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance bank in Afghanistan.
• BMAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance institution.
• WadancoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance institution.
• COARcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance institution.
• HamkaricoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance institution.
• Ghazanfar BankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner bank providing financial services.
• Azizi BankcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner bank providing financial services.
• LAMENcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner microfinance institution.
• Afghan GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMISFA was established in 2003 at the invitation of the Afghan government to coordinate donor funding for microfinance sector development.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BlueOrchard Finance: Leading commercial impact investment manager specializing in microfinance; channels wholesale capital to MFIs in emerging and frontier markets, directly analogous to MISFA's role as a wholesale development finance facility, though operating via private capital markets rather than donor funding.
• Grameen Bank: Pioneering microfinance institution serving poor and women borrowers in South Asia; comparable to MISFA in targeting underserved populations and women, though operates at retail level rather than as a wholesale facility.
• Accion International: Global nonprofit focused on financial inclusion through microfinance and fintech; comparable to MISFA in providing capital, technical assistance, and product development support to microfinance institutions serving low-income populations.
• Opportunity International: Global microfinance organization providing small loans, savings, and training to people in developing countries; comparable in mission and target population to MISFA's microfinance support, though structured as a fundraising and operating NGO rather than a donor coordination facility.
• Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM): Wholesale microfinance facility operating across Central and South Asia, including in fragile contexts similar to Afghanistan; channels donor capital and technical assistance to partner MFIs offering Sharia-compliant products, making it the closest functional analogue to MISFA.
• BRAC International: One of the world's largest microfinance and development NGOs; operates microfinance programs specifically referenced in MISFA data through the UNHCR-BRAC joint study on Afghan returnees, providing direct overlap in target population and methodology.
• FINCA International: Global microfinance network operating in developing markets including conflict-affected countries; comparable in serving poor populations via partner MFIs and shares MISFA's mission of financial inclusion in fragile contexts.

Emerging players

• Kiva: Crowdfunding-based microfinance platform enabling individual lenders to fund micro-entrepreneurs globally including Afghanistan; shares MISFA's microfinance mission but operates via direct-to-lender marketplace rather than institutional donor pooling.

Broad incumbents

• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank Group member focused on private sector development in emerging markets, including microfinance investment; comparable as a large-scale multilateral development finance institution operating in Afghanistan and the broader region, though with broader mandate than MISFA's microfinance focus.
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD): UN agency funding rural development and agricultural programs in developing countries; explicitly named in MISFA's data as the funder of the Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) program, directly comparable as a development finance institution partnering in microfinance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-microfinance-investment-support-facility-for-afghanistan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA)