I have been in the business trading with food products for three years, and I am interested in whether I can get a loan from Mikra? Can I get a loan from Mikra if I do not have a business? Can I get a loan for purchase of heating wood? Do I have to have a regular monthly income – salary in a company - in order to get a loan?

Mikra’s loans have a specific purpose, and they are exclusively used to support clients’ business activities. The loans are invested into businesses which are supposed to generate revenue to pay for the costs of the business itself as well as the household costs. Mikra’s loans are not consumer loans. Regular monthly income – salary in a company – is not a precondition for loan approval.

What activities are supported by Mikra’s loans? Can a loan be approved for knitting and sewing as home-based activities?

Mikra lends to clients involved in small business in the area of trade, production and services, and since the second half of 2003, Mikra has expanded its offer to include loans intended for agricultural production. The loans are available both for registered and unregistered businesses, meaning that all forms of home-based activity may be eligible for lending.

What kind of loan payment guarantees are required? Is a solidarity group a sole guarantee for loans? Are individual guarantors required?

Instead of classical forms of guarantees, Mikra is using solidarity group guarantees for loan payment. A solidarity group consists of 3-5 members, with each member raising a loan for the needs of its own business. Each member of the solidarity group is liable for the loan payment of other members with its solidarity group. Guarantees in the form of individual guarantors, mortgages, drafts or the like are not required.

Are all solidarity group members required to raise identical loan amounts? Do we have to take maximum loan amounts by cycles?

Members within a solidarity group may raise varying loan amounts, however, the loan amounts depend on the clients’ needs and on the assessment of their repayment ability, so that maximum amounts by cycles are not a requirement.

Does the whole "Zadruga" have the same loan payment term?

Yes, the members of the "Zadruga" make decisions on the payment term which is unique for the whole "Zadruga".

How is the internal "Zadruga" internal account formed? Is it a requirement to pay the predisbursement savings before the loan is raised, or is it possible to reduce our loan by the predisbursement deposit amount?

The predisbursement savings is a requirement for loan approval, and it has to be paid into the "Zadruga" internal account before the loan is raised. The "Zadruga" internal account is formed on the principle of mutual aid fund pool, owned by the members of the "Zadruga", and they dispose of this fund in compliance with the rules defined in the Statute of the "Zadruga" adopted by the members during the predisbursement training. The predisbursement savings do not constitute fees.

What purposes may the internal account is used for?

The "Zadruga" internal account is used exclusively for lending small borrowings to the members of the Cooperative owning this fund.

Do obligations of the selected members of the Management and Credit Committees also understand extra work beyond the "Zadruga", that is, at home, at work, and the like?

All the activities of the Management and Credit Committees are to be performed at the meetings of the "Zadruga", and no additional effort beyond the above stated meetings is required, except immediately after the end of the repayment meetings, when the selected cashier of the "Zadruga" deposits the internal account money onto the "Zadruga" bank savings account.

What happens after payment of the maximum 10000 KM loan amount after the fifth cycle?

After the fifth cycle, the maximum 10000 KM loan amount is also retained in each following cycle.