The mission of LLC MLO Humo and Partners is to support the vulnerable and underserved part of the Tajikistan population living in rural areas by providing financial and consulting services for development of small businesses.

For over 4 years, Humo and Partners has provided loans to its micro-credit clients loans using group and individual lending methodologies, including financing of start-up business, enhancement of asset turnover, agricultural projects, processing of agricultural products and trading. All of their clients, regardless of how big or small, receive high-quality service, honesty, transparency, and a quick response time from the staff – with new borrowers typically getting access to funds within 3-7 days.

Humo and Partners has 13 branches and 38 sub-offices throughout Tajikistan, covering 25 regions, including many rural locations where no other viable financial services exist. As of July 2011, they served over 14,000 active clients with a total portfolio of $8.3M USD. Approximately 38% of these clients were women.

Tajikistan is a small country in Central Asia with a unique a mix of the Islamic faith, Soviet influence, and Central Asian traditions. It became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and is now in the process of strengthening its economy after the 1992-97 civil war. The war, which claimed over 50,000 lives, turned this remote mountainous republic into the bloodiest corner of the former Soviet empire There have been no major security incidents in recent years, but the country remains the poorest in the Central Asia, with over two-thirds of the population living in poverty.

Due to a lack of developed infrastructure and industries, the country's economy has been supported in-large by remittances sent by migrant Tajik workers, primarily based in Russia. However, with the world's economic crisis, many of the migrant workers are now unable to find work abroad, just as the situation is getting more dire in Tajikistan itself. Access to micro-credit is now needed more than ever in order to provide a way for people to sustain their businesses and themselves during these difficult economic times.

Micro Lending Fund “HUMO” was founded in 2004, by an NGO Care Tajikistan, as a non-commercial social fund. Its goal was to increase the economic possibilities and standard of life for the poor and socially unprotected sectors of Tajikistan through the expansion of private business development.

Since 2007, HUMO and Partners has worked closely with Kiva to ensure that the funds are distributed to poor and low income clients and repayments are collected in a timely fashion. Funds raised through Kiva have already been distributed to thousands of HUMO and Partners' clients and will continue to provide thousands more with permanent access to the financial services they need.