CHF 1.2 Million Pledged by Swiss and European Tibetans as Investment in Gangjong Development Finance (TibFin)

Dharamshala: A senior CTA delegation comprised of Kaydor Aukatsang, Chief Resilience Officer and Dr Kunchok Tsundue, Chief Planning Officer, completed a highly successful tour to promote and raise capital for Gangjong Development Finance (TibFin) from Tibetan communities residing in Switzerland & Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands from 15 November-2 December 2019. The visit resulted in investment pledges totaling 1.2 million Swiss Francs including 145,000 in Euros from 48 investors in Switzerland, 7 in France and one each in Austria and the Netherlands. Pledged investment by Swiss & Liechtenstein Tibetans amounted to CHF 1,050,000.

The delegation met with Tibetans residing in Landquart, St. Gallen, Rikon, Lausanne/Geneva, Wädenswil, Horgen and Rapperswil-Jona cantons in Switzerland. They also participated in Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay’s meeting with the Swiss and Liechtenstein Tibetan community on November 16, 2019, in Zurich. The Austrian itinerary included visits to Salzburg and Vienna. The delegation also visited Paris in France and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The delegation members also promoted CTA’s Five-Fifty Vision and the Tibet Corps initiative.

For Tibetan investors residing in Europe, TibFin has two offerings: a minimum of EUR/CHF 15,000 in equity shares and a minimum of EUR/CHF 25,000 in short-term preference shares redeemable in five years with an annual dividend rate of 2%.

The Western Europe tour follows on the heels of the successful tour undertaken in North America in July 2019 where Tibetans residing in Canada and the United States pledged over USD1 million in investments towards transforming TibFin into the first Tibetan Small Finance Bank.

“I am deeply grateful to the Tibetan communities in Europe especially the Tibetan Community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein for their support. The TibFin initiative is a strategic and long-term initiative of the CTA under the Five-Fifty Vision and the participation of Tibetan community members is critical in ensuring the success of this initiative,” said Kalon Karma Yeshi, Finance Kalon.

Many organizations and individuals helped to make the tour a success. The delegation would like to thank in particular the President and Thumi members of the Tibetan community in Switzerland & Liechtenstein; President of the Tibetan community in Vienna, Thumi Members of the communities in Paris, Bonn and Amsterdam; Acha Nawang Dolkar la in Paris; the Nelung and Changten families in Switzerland; and The Tibet Bureau in Geneva.

The mission of TibFin is to provide affordable capital, financial services, and financial literacy to Tibetan entrepreneurs and promote Tibetan Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). TibFin is currently operating as a licensed Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) and has provided over USD 4 million in low-interest loans to small Tibetan businesses. The goal is to apply for a Small Finance Bank (SFB) license so that TibFin can operate as a full-fledged bank. The investments pledged from Tibetans in Switzerland and the other three European countries will go towards meeting the capitalization requirements of TibFin. Please contact [email protected] for more information on how you can support and invest in TibFin.