In the first half of 2025, microloans provided by microfinance organisations (MFOs) that focus on business financing increased by 29% compared to the same period last year. The main reason for this growth was the increased borrowing by sellers operating on marketplaces.
This group of sellers made up 44% of the microloans issued by these MFOs. These sellers usually take out short-term microloans to manage temporary cash flow shortages. The loans are typically repaid quickly, which leads to a rise in the number of loans disbursed by MFOs. However, because the average loan amount in this segment is smaller than in other business sectors, these loans have a less significant effect on the overall growth of the loan portfolio.
The portfolio of MFOs is still largely composed of larger microloans intended to finance projects that are considered socially important and are part of government programmes supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). An upcoming change will raise the maximum amount for a business microloan from 5 million rubles to 15 million rubles. This is expected to help entrepreneurs and companies access more resources to expand their businesses, improve SME competitiveness, and create growth opportunities in this sector.
Currently, 70% of the business microloan portfolio is secured by collateral such as property, sureties, or bank guarantees.
More information can be found in the publication “MFO Business Financing Market Trends for 2025 H1”.
