Shatha Kaksekar Limited, one of Cambodia’s largest microfinance institutions, has received a US$5 million loan from a French development organisation in order to meet rising demand among its client farmers.

PROPARCO, which is a joint venture between the French Development Agency and public and private shareholders, and Hattha Kaksekar signed the loan agreement yesterday in Phnom Penh.

“We need more money because nowadays people require more and more capital,” Hattha Kaksekar general director Huot Eang Tong said.

The loan term was eight years with the first two years interest free, he added.

Hattha Kaksekar is ranked number four among MFIs in the Kingdom in terms of total loans oustanding, according to the Cambodia Microfinance Association.

National Bank of Cambodia director general and spokeswoman Nguon Sokha pointed to the loan as evidence of the MFI’s expanding business in Cambodia.

“And it shows confidence from its partners who are granting the loans,” she said.