APRACA obtained a grant “Programme on Linkage Banking and Grassroots Financial Systems Development” from Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zuammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH by mutual agreement in 1993. The grant programme was initially for four years, aimed at strengthening APRACA in its task of satisfying the need of member financial institutions for implementation of Linkage programme of self-help groups with the financial service providers. The programme was also targeted for development of appropriate and sustainable financing instruments in support of micro-entrepreneurs . Under the Programme, country studies on microfinance were conducted in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and Laos and national workshops on microfinance were held in Laos and China. A Regional Workshop on the linkage Programme: Assessment of Linage Projects in Asia was held in December 1997 in Denpasar, Indonesia with a view to assessing the present situation of linkage banking and its future prospects. The workshop was a culmination of the Regional Linkage Programme that had actively been promoted by APRACA for over a decade with technical support of GTZ.

APRACA implemented a Regional project on Collateral Substitutes funded by the International Labour Organization (ILO) of UN and the Swiss Development Corporation (SDC). ILO and SDC sanctioned the regional grant to APRACA during the Programme period of three years. The Programme aimed to enable APRACA to strengthen its structure and its network of member institutions as a forum for exchange information and experience in the field of lending with the use of collateral substitutes, thereby building the capability of rural financial institutions, both large and small, in making their financial accessible to the rural poor. The programme was implemented by the Secretariat in Thailand. National as well as regional studies, regional workshops, policy dialogues and training courses on collateral substitutes were conducted under the Programme. Research and training activities of the Programme were carried out by the active participation of APRACA Agencies, APRACA Consultancy Services and APRACA CENTRAB.

The grant fund received from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to implement the Regional Programme for Strengthening Financial Services for Rural Poor: Building on the Credit Experiences in IFAD Member States of Asia and the Pacific or dubbed as the MICROSERV Programme. The Programme included the identification of innovations, lessons learned and insights with regard to rural and micro finance as well as their dissemination in the region through print media and major forums, such as workshops, field observation visits and training activities, During the Programme period, APRACA conducted 6 workshops, 4 training courses, 12 national seminars and 36 field visits that benefitted a total of 1,073 participants from 11 countries in Asia-Pacific region. MICROSERV bestowed special importance on the participation of institutions and projects from least developed and developing countries in the region, particularly Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos Mongolia, Myanmar, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Vietnam.

APRACA received a five-year technical and financial assistance grant from IFAD to implement the Regional Programme of Accelerating the Financial Empowerment of Poor Rural Communities in Asia and the Pacific through Financial Innovations or nicknamed as the IFAD-APRACA FinPower Programme, The FinPower Programme aimed to promote the financial empowerment of the rural poor in Asia-Pacific countries through policy dialogue, innovative pilot programmes, and knowledge sharing among actors in the rural finance sector. The programme, covering the period 2007 to 2011, mainly targeted 16 countries in the region-Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sir Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Under the programme, APRACA has annually conducted 20 to 25 activities such as regional studies and forums, national studies and forums, policy dialogues and pilot testing, excursion visits and training courses in the field of rural and micro finance in collaboration with APRACA member institutions and country offices of IFAD.

APRACA received another grant fund from IFAD in 2012 to implement one regional project named as IFAD-APRACA FinServAccess Project A project on “Enhancing the Access of Poor Rural People to Sustainable Financial Services through Policy Dialogue, Capacity-Building and Knowledge-Sharing in Rural Finance”. The project aimed to enhance the access of the rural poor – particularly smallholder farm households and agriculture related rural entrepreneurs, including women and rural youth to sustainable financial services through policy dialogues, replication of best practices, capacity building of different stakeholders and knowledge sharing in rural finance. The project was implemented in 4 countries of the region: Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar.

APRACA is currently being implementing a grant project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for documenting and piloting the “Global Best Practices on Sustainable Models of Pro-Poor Rural Financial Services in Developing Countries”. The overall goal of the project is to sustainably reduce rural poverty and improve food security for rural communities in the Asia-Pacific region. Its purpose is to assist rural finance providers and governments extend financial services on a sustainable basis, through the application of best practices suitable to their unique operating environments. More specifically, these best practices will be identified, studied, critically reviewed, and selectively piloted for adaptation and replicated and successfully scaled up by IFAD and other stakeholders involved in rural and agricultural finance. During the five-year duration (March 2014 till June 2019) the project will cover seven target countries: China, India, Indonesia, Philippines Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam.