Gender Equality National Report Hungary - European-microfinance ...

The experimental micro-credit program for women was offered at an interest rate 1
percentage point lower (instead of the central bank’s base interest rate of 7.75% it was
offered at 6.75%).
In the experience of the experimental program the counties that offered the program
managed to quicken female entrepreneurs by applying a lower interest rate. The number of
applicants had soared until the available funds were used up. This leads to the conclusion
that positive discrimination (a lower interest rate) is a suitable tool to goad other spheres of
entrepreneurs to be developed. A cautionary counter-example is the disinterest experienced
in the micro-credit program of the LEA in Fejer County to be run jointly with a commercial
bank probably due to the higher interest rate.
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