Amret is a leading microfinance institution and one of the top 10 financial institutions in Cambodia. A full subsidiary of the Advans Group, Amret has prestigious international shareholders and respected national and international reputations as a responsible and innovative institution. Throughout its evolution, Amret has stayed true to its mission - to provide underserved clients with financial services tailored to their needs.
To support Cambodian entrepreneurship, Amret has developed a suite of financial services, including flexible and easily accessible loans for farmers as well as medium loans for micro, small and medium enterprises. Moreover, Amret is offering a full suite of deposit, saving, payment, and transfer services for rural and urban households and enterprises to manage their budget and realize their projects all over Cambodia. All these services are delivered at our branches and via several digital channels with the utmost professionalism and a particular emphasis on high-quality customer service and personal relationship.
Accordion Content
Amret’s roots go back to a modest rural loan initiative set up in 1991 by a French organization called GRET (Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques) in just three provinces. It was GRET’s vision of achieving a truly sustainable future by nurturing local entrepreneurial spirit through the provision of responsible and affordable credit that founded Amret MFI.
Amret, first known as GRET and then as Ennetean Moulethan Tchonnebath (Local Rural Credit), started as a small credit project operating through five village associations in just three provinces: Kandal, Kampong Speu and Prey Veng.
Amret was formerly known as Ennetean Moulethan Tchonnebath (in English, it means "Local Rural Credit") or briefly called EMT (/ə/-/ɛm/-/te/). Because the full name was long so short name (EMT) was always used, and the full name (Ennetean Moulethan Tchonnebath) had rarely been used.
EMT was not usually pronounced in the right way because at present, most of people in Cambodia like to use English, they usually pronounce /i:/-/ɛm/-/ti:/ instead of /ə/-/ɛm/-/te/. Moreover, most of clients in rural areas always called the name shortly like: /ɛm/-/te/, /ə/-/te/ or /te/-/te/ so Amret's Management Staff had decided to change this name.
Through thorough study and correct consideration, with the help from a doctor of Khmer literature to give advice and explain the meaning of Amret, and through the study about the meaning and pronunciation of Amret from its clients especially some ethnics living in Cambodia such as Cham, Vietnamese, and some others, it has shown that Amret has good meaning and does not have bad meaning in the languages of these ethnics; additionally, the reverse pronunciation (Et-ram) of Amret is not a bad word.
The Management Staff decided to change the name from EMT to Amret on June 14, 2004. The purpose of this change is to make clients and people call the name of the institution easily and correctly. Another purpose is to name the institution in Khmer language that has good meaning and shows the solidarity.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, GRET provided loan to people after a workshop in May, 1991. There were only 50 participants participating in the workshop. The workshop made decision and commitment to focus on only one target which was the long time and sustainable credit for providing to people.This credit provision of GRET had to be able to facilitate and improve the living standard of borrowers. GRET followed the procedure of credit provision of Grameen Bank for applying to its procedure of credit provision by creating solidary group to guarantee each other for getting loan.
The maximum loan size for each member of the group was only 30.000 riels, which was equal to 30USD (according to the exchange rate at that time). Only one person in a family could get loan, and the number of members to get loan were limited to 5 members only in each group (no more and no less than 5 people). Those members guaranteed each other to get loan from Amret, and loan period was only 10 months for each cycle.
Amret, first known as GRET and then as Ennetean Moulethan Tchonnebath (Local Rural Credit), started as a small credit project operating through five village associations in just three provinces: Kandal, Kampong Speu and Prey Veng.
Amret was formerly known as Ennetean Moulethan Tchonnebath (in English, it means "Local Rural Credit") or briefly called EMT (/ə/-/ɛm/-/te/). Because the full name was long so short name (EMT) was always used, and the full name (Ennetean Moulethan Tchonnebath) had rarely been used.
EMT was not usually pronounced in the right way because at present, most of people in Cambodia like to use English, they usually pronounce /i:/-/ɛm/-/ti:/ instead of /ə/-/ɛm/-/te/. Moreover, most of clients in rural areas always called the name shortly like: /ɛm/-/te/, /ə/-/te/ or /te/-/te/ so Amret's Management Staff had decided to change this name.
Through thorough study and correct consideration, with the help from a doctor of Khmer literature to give advice and explain the meaning of Amret, and through the study about the meaning and pronunciation of Amret from its clients especially some ethnics living in Cambodia such as Cham, Vietnamese, and some others, it has shown that Amret has good meaning and does not have bad meaning in the languages of these ethnics; additionally, the reverse pronunciation (Et-ram) of Amret is not a bad word.
The Management Staff decided to change the name from EMT to Amret on June 14, 2004. The purpose of this change is to make clients and people call the name of the institution easily and correctly. Another purpose is to name the institution in Khmer language that has good meaning and shows the solidarity.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, GRET provided loan to people after a workshop in May, 1991. There were only 50 participants participating in the workshop. The workshop made decision and commitment to focus on only one target which was the long time and sustainable credit for providing to people.This credit provision of GRET had to be able to facilitate and improve the living standard of borrowers. GRET followed the procedure of credit provision of Grameen Bank for applying to its procedure of credit provision by creating solidary group to guarantee each other for getting loan.
The maximum loan size for each member of the group was only 30.000 riels, which was equal to 30USD (according to the exchange rate at that time). Only one person in a family could get loan, and the number of members to get loan were limited to 5 members only in each group (no more and no less than 5 people). Those members guaranteed each other to get loan from Amret, and loan period was only 10 months for each cycle.