8 p.m., Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia On a quiet street in Tbilisi, in the Republic of Georgia, people looking for the perfect thing to wear for that special occasion enter a small workshop. The shop is unmarked from the street, but customer loyalty and word-of-mouth are enough to provide a bustling business for owner Nino Khijakadze. Her shop creates everything from costumes for the local theater to wedding gowns and fur coats. Nino turned her childhood hobby into a company with a staff of 11 serving 150 regular customers. She recently obtained a real estate loan from the Bank of Georgia to acquire an apartment and convert it into a workshop, allowing her to double the size of her company. "Building equity amplifies the sense of stability, a major attraction for the customers, whose loyalty is precious to us," Nino says. ShoreBank Advisory Services provides technical assistance to banks in emerging economies. In Tibilisi, this partnership has resulted in the Bank of Georgia extending real estate loans funded by the International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank. ShoreBank Advisory Services provided intensive trainings and one-on-one daily mentoring to the Bank of Georgia for two years, resulting in 259 loans valued at $2 million. Prior to this program, 90 percent of the people who now have real estate loans were considered unbankable. Now they have built relationships with a bank and have access to other banking services, increasing their ability to be financially self-sufficient. Through its partnerships with international finance agencies and local banks, ShoreBank is creating new opportunities for individuals and businesses in emerging economies.