EF’s Board of Trustees directs the Foundation to create the first independent loan program in Armenia, the Small Business Loan Program, which later becomes the Izmirlian-Eurasia Universal Credit Company, and the Media Viability Fund for Russia and Ukraine.
EF leads a donor consortium in the creation of the Economics Education and Research Consortium (EERC), a program that supports contemporary economics education and research across the former Soviet Union.
EF’s Board of Trustees directs the Foundation to open offices in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.