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Мarch – April 2005

1. In April 2005 - 2030 group loans and 422 individual loans were disbursed. Thus within the month 2452 projects were financed. Working loans: group – 12747, individual – 3585, total – 16332.

2. As of the end of April 2005, there were 15507 active clients in FORA Fund.

3. From April 4 to 8 training on management skills development was held in Nizhny Novgorod for the Fund’s hubs’ senior managers and chief accountants’ deputies.

4. On April 20 the Entrepreneur’s Day was held in Saratov. It was arranged by the Administration of Saratov city and Saratov state university Centre for entrepreneurship development, at the support of the funds and banks of Saratov city. In the framework of the session “Financial Products for Small Businesses” Svetlana Milovanova made a presentation of FORA Funds’ crediting products. In the course of the conference the entrepreneurs were informed about special programmes for small business crediting, were able to ask questions to the banking structures representatives and get consultations on banking services.
Participants of the conference discussed the problems of small business crediting and worked out the ways of cooperation between business, banks and authorities. There was an exhibition “Banking and insurance services for small and medium businesses” held at the conference, and a reward ceremony for the “Entrepreneurship of the year” contest winners of 2004.

5. In April of 2005 Olga Kostukova, FORA Fund’s marketing and research projects coordinator, carried out marketing research among the clients of the hubs in St.Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod targeted at observing the entrepreneurs’ demand for banking products and services in connection with the approaching transformation of FORA Fund into a banking structure. All clients that took part in the discussion manifested their willingness to continue dealing with “FORUS” Bank.

January—February 2005

1. At the end of February , the first stage of the new pilot project (consumer loans and parallel loans) finished in the Hubs in Saratov and Voronezh. Clients of the Hubs confirmed existence of greater demand for this type of loans in the regions.

2. Visit of the US Ambassador

On 9 February, in the frameworks of his visit to Nizhny Novgorod, US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow met the managers of Nizhny Novgorod non-governmental organizations and representatives of the local business community. FORA was represented here by its Director, Tatyana Yurina, who was speaking about FORA’s operations and its conversion into a bank.
On 10 February the Central Office of FORA received Terry Myers, USAID Mission Director in Russia, who came to Nizhny Novgorod on a working visit as a member of the Ambassadorial delegation.

3. On 7 February the Hub in St. Petersburg disbursed the biggest loan (500 000 Rbl) under the new Lending Methodology for the first time.

4. V. Matveev, Director of the Hub in Voronezh, took part in the panel discussion of the problems in small business lending under the sponsorship of “Rossiyskaya Gazeta”.

5. In January 2005 FORA disbursed 2,480 group loans and 636 individual loans. Thus, 3,116 projects have been financed in one month. Working loans: 13 239 group loans and 3374 individual loans,
totally, 16 613 loans. As of the end of January 2005, FORA had 15 804 active clients.

6. Conference

The most important and manifest event of the month was the Fifth Annual FORA Staff Conference.
Staff members from all Hubs of FORA rallied in St. Petersburg and were presented with the gifts bearing symbols of FORA. The official part of the Conference took place on board the Silja Line ferry going from Helsinki to Stockholm.
In her presentation Tatyana Yurina, FORA Director, summed up FORA’s operations in 2004 and described the plans for further development of FORA.
A new FORA staff member, banking advisor M. J. Wills took part in the Conference for the first time. He made a short speech to talk about himself and expressed his hope for close cooperation with all Conference participants in joint actions aimed at promotion of the microfinancing programme into Russian regions and creation of a new bank.
Each Hub was given the opportunity to “present” themselves jokingly.
At the end of the official part the best Hubs and employees FORA received letters of awards and valuable gifts. The day ended with a celebration dinner.
The programme of the Conference included also tours around Helsinki and Stockholm, entertainment on board the ferry, and, most important, talks and discussions of friends and colleagues.

7. Photo contest

In February, on the threshold of the International Women's Day, all Hubs and satellites of FORA started the photo contest between business ladies, clients of FORA. The contest is called “Women in Business”.
Photo sessions for those willing to participate are performed by loan officers, participants can also bring their photos to FORA’s offices. We are especially interested in the photos that show women in their working environment: at the counter, in production, at the steering wheel of a dredger, that is, directly at the moment, when they are, as they say, "stop running horses, enter burning houses”. And still they are sweet, tender and reliable partners of FORA.
The best works will be selected in the first week of March by voting at FORA’s web site, where all the photos will be placed on the forum, and each staff member could vote for the most charming and self-confident business ladies.

November – December 2004

1. In December 2004 FORA disbursed 13 505 group loans and 2 822 individual loans. Thus, 16 327 projects have been financed in one month.
2. As of the end of December 2004 FORA had 15 885 active clients.
3. By the end of December FORA disbursed more than 100000 loans for the sum more than USD 100 Mln!
4. On 29 November FORA was visited by Laura Reilly, OI US Senior Director of Strategic Communications, with a filming team. The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with FORA's operations and collect materials for the programme of selecting the best loan officer and the best client in the OI Network. The guests stayed in the Hub in Rostov from 30 November till 1 December for communication with M. Morozova, the Best LO Nominee, and A. Pogosyan, the Best Client Nominee.
5. On 1 December all FORA's Hubs started a seasonal event offering seasonal loans of three types with grace period up to 3 months, interest rate discounts, and various repayment schemes.
6. On 8 December G.G. Vanchikova, Director of the Hub in St. Petersburg, made a presentation about FORA and the programme of small business crediting in the programme "Our Business" on one of the St. Petersburg TV channels.
7. 14-17 December new loan officers with working experience up to 12 months were trained in the Hub of Saratov. 19 loan officers from FORA's Hubs were participating. The training was led by S. Milovanova, Saratov Hub Director, and E. Dedeneva, Senior LO of the Hub in Saratov.

8. On 15 December 2004 all FORA's Hubs and satellites started the New Year celebration event for FORA's clients: all the clients received greeting cards from their loan officers, all newcomers were presented with souvenirs.
9. On 16 December G. Vanchikova, Director of the Hub in St. Petersburg took part in the
Conference/Exhibition "Banks and Business in the North-West of Russia: Ways of Development", which was supported by the Committee for Financial Markets and Credit Organizations of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Galina made a presentation at the section "Small Business and Banks: Programmes of Credits to Small Businesses".
10. On 23 December CO Directors, Hub Directors, and chief accountants met in Nizhny Novgorod to sum up preliminary results of operations in 2004. This year became a serious stage in FORA's development, and was characterized by significant growth of the portfolio and client base, and territorial expansion.
11. On 27 December S. Trubitsyn, Hub Director, took part in the joint meeting of the Coordination Council for Small Business Development and the interdepartmental commission on overcoming administrative obstacles for entrepreneurial activities in Lipetsk Oblast. At the meeting FORA was praised for active participation in regional meetings on small business issues.
12. In December new loan officers joined FORA. O. Goncharova and M. Nevstruev were employed with satellites in Rossosh and Kursk (Hub in Lipetsk), office manager E. Ibrayeva was employed with the satellite in Yoshkar-Ola (Hub in Nizhny), and loan officer S. Chanov was employed with the satellite in Pskov (Hub in St Petersburg).
13. In December FORA's Hubs had staff meetings to discuss the results of operations in 2004. At the general staff meeting of the Hub in Lipetsk the best employees of the Hub received letters of awards and the best satellite was awarded. It was the satellite in Tambov.
14. At the end of month the New Year charity event took place, which had already become traditional. In the framework of that event all the Hubs presented orphans in children's homes with gifts. In token of gratitude the pupils of Children's Home No. 31 of Moscow District of St. Petersburg presented the Hub with a congratulatory poster and invited the staff to the New Year celebration. Staff members of the Hub had the possibility to talk to the orphans and to see how they learn, rest and what their hobbies are.

October 2004