ACBAR

       SME Client Support Afghanistan LLC (“SCSA”) is a consulting and service company registered with the General Directorate of Central Business Registry & Intellectual Property with its he   adquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. SCSA is fully owned by ACGF - Afghan Credit Guarantee Foundation (“ACGF”), a foundation with legal incorporation in Germany. ACGF is a credit               guarantee fund with the mission to improve access to finance for Afghanistan’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (“MSMEs”) by sharing the credit risk of the Afghan partner financial institutions (“PIs”) and by improving their MSME lending capacity with technical assistance (“TA”). ACGF was founded in 2014 by DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. Governed by a service contract concluded between ACGF and SCSA. SCSA provides a broad range of ancillary services in the context of ACGF’s credit guarantee and technical assistance operations. SCSA is a consulting company, not a financial institution. It neither provides any financial services nor does it have contractual relationships with the Afghan PIs. SCSA solely acts as a service provider to ACGF by carrying out a range of various services, e.g., providing ongoing technical assistance to PIs (e.g., training-on-the-job and coaching of SME credit staff) or providing support services for the credit guarantee appraisal and guarantee claim appraisal. Besides the above-mentioned credit guarantees, ACGF has started two projects: MSME Access to Finance for Livelihoods in Afghanistan (MALA), funded by the European Union (EU) and supporting the implementation of a Matching Grants Programme for MSMEs in Afghanistan; and Empowering Microfinance and Enterprises for Resilience and Growth (EMERGe), funded by World Bank and aiming to build sustainable solutions for developing both the demand for and supply of finance for micro and small enterprises in Afghanistan, prioritizing women's financial inclusion. Under both projects, TA is provided to Afghan PIs to enhance their capacity for providing lending products that respond to MSMEs' financing needs and are compliant with the regulatory environment; as well as to support them as they transition operationally to the Islamic finance model and the provision of Shariah-compliant products.

Work Modality: Remote work due to the absence of a physical sub-office in Mazar. The employee will perform duties from their home location.

Position Purpose 
The Credit Analyst supports SCSA and ACGF in achieving the business volume and guarantee portfolio quality objectives set by ACGF. The Credit Analyst carries out regular site visits to Partner Financial Institutions (PIs) and supported MSMEs. The Credit Analyst ensures a professional and cooperative relationship with the staff of PIs. As well, the Credit Analyst keeps up to date with the MSME market development in Afghanistan and supports SCSA and ACGF in business development initiatives. 

Main Duties & Responsibilities 
The scope of work of the Credit Analyst covers the following specific areas:

•    Undertake appraisals of guarantee and grant applications of MSMEs by verifying compliance with guarantee eligibility and selection criteria, by appraising the financial capacity of the business, and reviewing the feasibility of investment projects
•    Ensure the implementation of financing policies, procedures, and processes by PIs
•    Coordinate the development of guarantee and grant applications in close cooperation with PIs and allowing for an adjustment of the applications in case of inconsistencies. Supports the PI’s financing officers in developing together with the applicants consistent and complete guarantee applications
•    Recommend compliant guarantee and grant applications for approval and incompliant cases for rejection to ACGF
•    Collect and maintain guarantee and grant-related processing data for documentation and reporting purposes
•    Provide ad-hoc support to ACGF’s operations unit with a particular focus on guarantee and grant-related tasks
•    Conduct MSME field visits and verifications, and report findings to SCSA Management and ACGF Operations Unit
•    Conduct file verifications at PI premises and report findings to SCSA Management and ACGF Operations Unit
•    Act as liaison between the ACGF Operational team in Germany and PIs on all operational activities
•    Monitor the integrity and compliance of the credit and grant operations of the respective PIs and contribute to initiatives of ACGF to improve the compliance and performance of PI staff
•    Develop reports and information documents in relation to grant and guarantee procedures
•    Support and train new SCSA Analysts and contribute to their professional development, particularly with regard to the Matching Grants program
•    Other ad-hoc related tasks as per instructions of SCSA Management.
 

        Key Selection Criteria

         Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Banking, Finance, Accounting, Business Management, Economics, or a related field; an advanced degree in a relevant field is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of MSME lending.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and good computer skills.

        Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in Credit.
• Good knowledge of the Afghan financial sector.
• Business mindset and good insight into issues of SME finance.

        Skills and Personal Attributes:

• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills
• Previous experience with grant programs is a plus
• Excellent analytical skills and good reporting skills
• Ability to work independently and to work confidentially
• Ability and willingness to do field work outside and to travel throughout Afghanistan, if needed
• Capacity to process and analyse complex credit information efficiently and accurately
• Excellent written and spoken English and fluency in the local language are required 
• Be able to work in a remote setting (including the availability of a designated office space and a steady internet connection)

       What we offer

• Competitive compensation
• Training opportunities
• Contribution to a visible impact in Afghanistan
• An environment supporting autonomous and results-oriented work with short communication and decision-making processes
• SCSA provident fund scheme
• Transportation allowance
• Health cost support
• Communications Allowance

Please apply online at https://acgf.bamboohr.com/careers/207 and include a 1-page cover letter, your CV, and three references.

Please mention “Application for the position of 'Credit Analyst (SCSA LLC/2025/205)” in the subject line of the cover letter.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

https://acgf.bamboohr.com/careers/207