Women in Business loan

Start and grow your business with an affordable and flexible loan

This loan solution was developed to provide accessible and affordable funding exclusively for women entrepreneurs to kickstart and enhance their business ventures.

Accelerate your business growth with easy financing

The empowerment of Armenian women in business has been made possible through our collaboration with the German-Armenian Fund. Our goal is to support and enhance your entrepreneurial ventures.

You can contact us by phone by calling and receive the necessary consultation.

  • Personalized Approach and Flexible Terms
    Financing is provided based on the borrower’s financial capacity, income sources, and preferred repayment terms.

  • Individual Approach and Flexibility
    Empower your business with flexibility – benefit from a grace period of up to 9 months, customized to support your unique needs.

  • Loan Limit
    loans of up to AMD 1,500,000, open the doors for expansion and success in your business.

  • Transparency
    All terms are fully transparent, with no hidden fees. Choose from flexible repayment plans ranging from 3 to 60 months. For loans of up to 5 million AMD, no collateral is required.

  • Speed and Simplicity
    Minimal documentation requirements and fast approval process.
  • Accessibility
    With branches across different regions of Armenia, we are available where you need us most.

Loan Calculator

* The following calculation is informative and may change slightly.

Apply Online

Applying for a loan with us is straightforward and convenient.

  • 1

    Receive a Call
    Our operator will call you within 15 minutes to confirm the details.

  • 2

    Apply Online
    Fill in our easy online application form.

  • 3

    Approval and Disbursement
    Upon visiting the nearest FINCA branch, your loan will be approved within 5 business days.

Start your application

Applying for a loan with us is straightforward and convenient.


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About the Loan

Main terms and conditions
Purpose Financing of working capital, fixed capital
Loan currencyAMD
Loan amount500,000 -1,500,000
Loan maturity112 - 60 months
Loan annual interest rate13,40%
Loan annual percentage rate214,25%
Loan service fee (monthly)0%
Loan disbursement fee (one off)0%
Loan disbursement methodNon cash
Customer Requirements

• Legal entities that are residents of the Republic of Armenia, where at least one of the founders is a woman holding more than 50% ownership, as well as female sole entrepreneurs (hereinafter referred to as “SE”), who meet the maximum thresholds established for “SME entities” under the RA Law on State Support for Small and Medium Entrepreneurship.

• For sole entrepreneurs (SE), the minimum age is 21. At the time of application, the sum of the applicant’s age and the requested loan term must not exceed 70 years throughout the entire loan period (unless otherwise required by the Credit Committee). This requirement also applies to guarantors.

• Residence and at least 6 consecutive months of business activity within FINCA’s service area.

• Loan service coverage ratio (client’s disposable income divided by the monthly installment of the requested loan): minimum 1.53.

• Capital adequacy ratio (capital divided by total assets plus the requested loan amount): minimum 0.43.

• Compliance with FINCA’s social and environmental standards.

• The borrower must act in their own name and for their own benefit; taking a loan for the benefit of a third party is prohibited.

Minimum requirements for loan security
  • Assessment of creditworthiness
  • Source of stable income
  • Guarantee by decision of the Credit Committee
Loan repayment

The loan is repaid through equal monthly installments consisting of principal, interest, and a service fee (if applicable), or under a flexible repayment schedule. A grace period of up to 9 months is available.

The borrower may repay the loan early, in full or partially, without paying any penalty. In case of early repayment, the total cost of credit (interest and other charges) is proportionally reduced together with the outstanding principal, unless the payer provides other written instructions.

Penalties and other charges payable for non-performance or improper performance of obligations under the RA legislation and the agreement are not subject to reduction, nor are the payments defined under Article 15 of the RA Law on Consumer Credit.

In case of full early repayment, the borrower shall pay the principal, accrued interest, service fee (if applicable), and any other charges calculated as of the repayment date. Future monthly payments may be made in advance by submitting a written instruction.

Each future monthly repayment shall be applied in the following order:

service fee (if applicable) and other charges, interest, principal.

Notes

Loan interest is calculated based on the nominal interest rate applied to the outstanding loan balance. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) reflects the total cost of the loan if interest and all other mandatory fees related to the loan disbursement are paid in accordance with the established procedure. The calculation methodology of the APR is presented below.

The loan amount is transferred to the client’s bank account.

Deviations from the established capital adequacy and loan service coverage ratios are approved in accordance with the Company’s internal legal acts.

If the borrower is a sole entrepreneur (SE), the guarantor may be either internal (a family member) or external (another individual). In the case of a legal entity, the guarantee of persons holding a significant share of 10% or more is mandatory.

Flexible repayment schedule – a schedule under which the amount of principal repayment may vary each month.

Grace period – a period during which no principal repayment is required.

Staged disbursement is approved as a total loan under a single loan agreement; however, the funds are disbursed in installments after the fulfillment of pre-approved conditions for each stage. One or more stages may be disbursed as a new loan under FINCA’s tariffs effective at that time.

In the case of staged loan approval, the collateral agreement may be concluded either for the total loan amount or separately for each stage. The maximum period between the disbursement of the first and last stage is 6 months.

Other terms and conditions

Staged Disbursement

Disbursement may be made either in a single installment or in up to three tranches. The amount of each tranche may not be less than AMD 500,000.

Parallel loans

Maximum number of parallel loans: 3. Provided within the framework of this type of loan, the maximum amount of total loan obligations is AMD 1,500,000.

Modification of loan terms

If the Central Bank of RA refuses or refinances the loan,
then within 7 working days from the moment of notification about the withdrawal of the loan,
a new loan agreement is signed to refinance the provided loan,
defined for the currently specified business dram loans with conditions.
If a new credit agreement is not signed within the stipulated period,
the current contractual interest rate is set at 24.0% per annum, but not exceeding
twice the bank interest calculation rate set by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia.
Recalculation is not performed until the amended schedule for early payments comes into force.

 

Required Documents (To Be Submitted In Person)

Individuals

  • ID cards of the borrower and the guarantors or their passports and social security cards.
  • If the borrower is a sole entrepreneur, a Certificate of State Registration is also required.
  • Other documents upon request.

Legal entities

  • Certificate of State Registration, director insert.
  • ID cards of the director, shareholders and guarantors or their passports and social security cards.
  • Copies of the state registration certificate, charter and tax code of the participants of the legal entity.
  • Other documents upon request.

Additional

  • Documents confirming the client’s income.
  • Other documents as required (including based on the “”Know Your Customer”” principle).
  • Documents are submitted in paper form at the time of submitting an application for a loan or
    within three days thereafter.
Factors Influencing The Loan Decision

Positive factors

  • Sufficient level of creditworthiness
  • Good credit history
  • Stable income generated from agriculture

Negative factors

  • Insufficient level of creditworthiness
  • Bad credit history
  • Absence of stable income
  • Non-compliance with the set customer requirements
  • Provision of false or untrustworthy info
  • Other credit risks
Timing
  • Making a decision on a loan application: maximum 3 business days.
  • Written or oral notification of the applicant of a positive decision, maximum 1 working day.
  • Written (paper or electronic)a statement to the applicant about a negative decision. Notice: maximum 2 business days.
  • The actual provision of the loan, a maximum of 20 jobs from the date of application day.
  • The maximum period of validity of the decision of the credit committee is 15 working days.
Other
  • The loan can be signed at all FINCA branches.
  • Before signing the contract, an individual sheet is provided, which presents the individual terms of the loan to be provided.
Notes
  • Interest on the loan is calculated based on the nominal interest rate on the loan balance. And actually per year? interest rate shows how much the loan will cost interest charges and all other mandatory related to the provision of the loan in case of making the payments in the prescribed manner. The procedure for calculating the actual annual interest rate is presented below.
  • The loan amount is transferred to the customer’s account.
  • Deviations from the established ratios of capital adequacy and loan coverage are approved in accordance with Internal legal acts of the company.
  • If the borrower is a private individual, the guarantor can be both internal (family member) and external (another person). If there is only an external guarantor, then a member of the borrower’s family or, if married, the spouse is registered as an affiliate. The financial guarantor must have an income comparable to the loan amount or liquid assets. In the case of a legal entity, the guarantee of persons with a significant share of 10% or more is mandatory.
  • Flexible repayment schedule – A schedule in which the principal payment amount can vary from month to month.
  • Grace period: a period during which principal repayments are not made. Preferential redemption only repayment consisting of interest and service charge.
  • Tranche — a total loan is approved by signing one loan agreement, however, the disbursement is made in parts, subject to the pre-established conditions for each tranche. If the loan is approved in tranches, the collateral agreement can be signed for the full amount of the loan, or separately for each tranche. One or more of the tranches may be provided in the form of a new loan with current FINCA rates. Maximum disbursement period between the first and last tranche – 6 months.
Warnings And Penalties

In case the borrower breaches the contractual obligations, FINCA may change the interest rate of the loan following the order provided by the contract and the terms constituting an integral part of the contract.
In case of failure to fulfill the contractual obligations according to the payment schedule, the borrower is obligated to pay a PENALTY for each overdue day in the amount of: 1) 0.13% of the overdue principal, 2) 0.13% of the overdue interest.
If the borrower fails to repay the principal on time, application of the contractual interest rate towards the overdue amount is terminated and a 24% annual interest rate is applied from the day of breaching the schedule till the loan repayment date. If the amount paid is not sufficient to cover all overdue obligations, the creditor’s expenses incurred in efforts to receive the due payments from the borrower are paid first, followed by the service fees, penalties, interest and principal. This order may change per the creditor’s decision based on the borrower’s written request.
In case of failing to fulfill your loan obligations, this information is sent to the credit bureau where your credit history is formed. Bad credit history can prevent you from receiving a new loan in the future.
In case of not fulfilling your loan obligations on time, your property may be confiscated in accordance with the law.
If the collateral is insufficient to cover loan obligations when repaying them at the expense of the collateral, payments are made at the expense of your other property.

The annual percentage rate calculation is based on the following formula:

where
A – the initial loan amount
n – the sequence number of the installment for loan repayment
N – the sequence number of the last installment for loan repayment
Kn – the amount of the nth installment for loan repayment
Dn – the number of days between the loan disbursement date and the date of the nth installment for loan repayment
i – the annual percentage rate

Calculation Example

Loan amount

1,500,000 AMD

Loan maturity

36 months

Loan annual interest rate

13.4%

Loan service fee

0%

Loan disbursement fee

0%

Loan repayment

3 months of grace period

Loan disbursement day

3-Dec-24

Loan first repayment date

03-Jan-2025

Loan annual percentage rate

14.25%

As part of the provision of program business loans, they are subject to refinancing

a) consumer loans
b) loans for the purchase or repair of residential real estate
c) Loans provided by the Government for the acquisition of land subject to alienation for public needs for
d) loans provided to recipients who are not private beneficiaries (the share of private owners-residents of the Republic of Armenia is less than 50% beneficiaries who have)
e) loans related to currency and securities speculation
f) loans provided to repay other credit obligations of beneficiaries
g) pawnshop loans or all loans provided only on the basis of collateral (sub-loans must be provided with financial resources for doing business (in agriculture and/or other industries) for at least 6 months preceding based on the analysis)
h) loans related to activities listed in the IFC exclusion list https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/sustainability-at-ifc/company-resources/ifcexclusionlist
I) Revolving credit lines

General conditions and information on all types of loans
  • FINCA has the right, in cases provided for by the agreement and the terms and conditions that are an integral part of the agreement, to unilaterally change the interest rate on the loan to “+5” percentage points, but no more than by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia twice the established provision on calculating bank interest, notifying the borrower about a change that took effect 7 working days before entry.
  • Statements of credit obligations are provided in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia at regular intervals. Other information is provided to a maximum of 10 employees in any FINCA branch during the day based on the application.
  • Tariffs for the provision of statements and other information are set in accordance with the internal legal regulations of FINCA.
  • You can contact FINCA in any way convenient for you: by mail or electronically: receiving information in electronic form is most convenient, since it does not involve the risk of losing paper information.
  • To compare the types of loans offered to individuals and choose the most appropriate option, you can visit the electronic platform “your financial the reference book” www.fininfo.am at the address.”
Note. FINCA UCO CJSC is controlled by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia

This type of loan is subject to review at least once a year from the date of entry into force.

Effective from December 2, 2024, in accordance with Decision No. 136/2024 of the Management Board of FINCA UCO CJSC dated November 21, 2024.

Customer Success

“Securing a Women Loan from FINCA Armenia was a game-changer for my bakery in Yerevan. With the funds, I upgraded my equipment, expanded my product line, and hired more staff, which helped me double my revenue and turn my small business into a local favorite.” – Maria

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, at least 6 months of continuous business activity and residence within FINCA’s service area are required.
The need to have a guarantor depends on the decision of the credit committee.
The required documents include a Passport, Certificate of State Registration.

The total process can take up to 3 business days.

Yes, you can pay off your loan early without penalty.

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