Sellers on marketplaces actively raise microloans from MFOs for business financing
Over 2025 H1, microloans raised from microfinance organisations (MFOs) specialising in business financing increased by 29% year on year. The growth was mainly driven by extensive lending to sellers on marketplaces.
This business segment accounted for 44% of the microloans issued by MFOs of the said category. Sellers typically raise short-term microloans to bridge their cash flow gaps. These microloans are quickly repaid and, therefore, notably increase MFOs’ disbursements. Concurrently, their impact on the growth rate of the portfolio is weaker because the average microloan amount in this segment is significantly lower than in other business segments.
MFOs’ portfolio is still dominated by larger microloans aimed at financing socially important projects under government programmes implemented to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The planned increase in the maximum amount of a business microloan from ₽5 million to ₽15 million will enable entrepreneurs and companies to raise resources so as to scale up their business, which will improve SMEs’ competitiveness and create a potential for growth in this segment.
The level of collateralisation of the business microloan portfolio remains high, with 70% of the portfolio secured by property, sureties, or bank guarantees.
More details are available in the publication MFO Business Financing Market Trends for 2025 H1.