Clifford Chance (CC) has launched a dedicated group to bolster its global microfinance activities, which are focused on providing loans to develop businesses in poor regions of the world.

The group consists of around 100 lawyers based throughout 20 offices and comes as part of a project launched in the firm's London base.

The pro bono initiative has seen the firm set up a partnership with longstanding client Citi, with the first major project between the legal and banking giants already finalised. The project saw CC advise on the creation of a multijurisdictional template document to ease the process of securing loans using standardised agreements and documentation.

The template is aimed at helping small businesses in a range of countries to gain large-scale access to commercial bank financing without having to start the funding process from scratch each time.

The microfinance group was launched on the initiative of senior London capital markets associate Maya Mehta, supported by senior partner Stuart Popham and London managing partner David Bickerton.

Bickerton (pictured) said: "Microfinance has exciting implications for our client relationships. Not only can we offer them a high quality of service in this arena, but there are plenty of opportunities to partner with them on pro bono work."

Mehta added: "The launch comes at an exciting time for the industry as there is a growing appetite from the investor side and an increasing need for advice in this area."

For more, see Clifford Chance places value on pro bono efforts of £17m a year