The break-up of the Soviet Union and Georgia’s declaration of independence in April 1991 was followed by civil wars in 1992-1995. These conflicts resulted in the collapse of the economy and the scattering of approximately 300,000 IDP’s from the conflict affected regions throughout the country.  As a result, together with the changes brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia’s fledgling market economy has been seriously impacted.

In 1997, WV started the “Georgia’s Entrepreneurs’ Fund” (GEF). WV/GEF’s mission is providing sustainable financial services to the entrepreneurial poor and Georgian micro- and small businesses, with a preference for rural activities and those businesses that create income and employment opportunities for the poor. Its vision is to enable the poor to increase household incomes and reduce their vulnerability, enabling them to build a meaningful, sustainable and self-determined livelihood.

The year 2002 was a milestone for WV/GEF and could be considered as a new start of the program; support from CIDA enabled growth from a one-branch operation with a small portfolio to start branches in Kutaisi and Batumi, double the portfolio and triple the number of clients. Strong growth continued since then with new branches in Akhaltsikhe and Borjomi.

In 2005 WV/GEF obtained local registration in Georgia, thus transforming into an indigenous legal entity. Vision fund International, a California based microfinance corporation managing a USD 70,000,000 portfolio invested in 45 MFIs, will be the Founder of this entity. WV/GEF upon registration continued operations under the name VisionFund CREDO Foundation, shortened as CREDO. Vision Fund is wholly owned by World Vision International.

Because of a new law on microfinance VisionFund Credo non-commercial non-entrepreneurial entity has established a new company in December 2007, LLC MicroFinance Organisation Credo. The new Credo has been licensed by the National Bank of Georgia as an MFO and VisonFund Credo transferred all the rights and obligations of outstanding loan agreements to LLC MFO Credo.

2008 has been successful year for MFO Credo. Motivation to effectively combat the economic stagnation; and desire to grow and adjust to the changing times, has been positively reflected on our growth rate-100% in both number of clients and portfolio. Today MFO Credo is a leading MFI in Georgia with a mission to reduce of poverty through serving 21000 clients and managing 26mln USD portfolio.