Under the project, the World Bank said it would invest $45 million to help UK's Standard Chartered increase its microfinance portfolio, which would involve lending small amounts to low income groups in these continents without collateral, whose needs are not met by traditional commercial banks.

A spokesperson for Standard Chartered said the bank already provides loans for 48 microfinance firms in 15 developing countries in Asia and Africa. Citigroup and ING are other banks with microfinance portfolios.

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