Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion

Final Report/Synopsis of Research Results:

The Altai Republic of the Russian Federation is located in the south of Western Siberia, along the Russian border with Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. Its population is about 211,000 people, who occupy 243 rural villages and one city. Seventy-four percent life in rural areas. People are farmers and herders, with cattle being the primary source of income and store of value. Pine nuts are an important export; they are collected and sold to brokers who sell them to processing plants in Russia and especially in China. There is only one meat market, in the city of Gorno-Altaisk. There are no regular produce markets. People grow forsubsistence and engage in some trading among themselves.