Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25
By Abbas Akhundov - Trend:
The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have approved the technical assistance for the development of the microfinance sector in Azerbaijan, according to a message from the bank posted on its website.
"The technical assistance in the amount of $300,000 will expand the access to financial services for individuals with low income and small enterprises, will improve the regulative and supervisory framework for microfinance," the bank said.
Alongside with this, another $300,000 will be allocated from the Financial Sector Development Partnership Fund. The Fund operating under ADB is supported by the government of Luxemburg.
The technical assistance envisages preparation of a report on diagnosing the situation of the financial inclusiveness and conducting appropriate assessments, presenting a roadmap to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and other structures on implementation of the strategy of expanding the access to financial services.
Under the technical assistance it is planned to attract services of three international and two national consultants.
"ADB will assist Azerbaijan in development of the policy and strategy on financial inclusiveness, improvement of the situation related to the accessibility of information. It is expected that this policy will attract strategic investments in new services, in the sphere of payment, saving, micro-insurance, micro-leasing, branchless banking and so on," the bank said.
ADB was founded in 1966 and has 67 members. The bank's headquarters is located in Manila, the capital of Philippines. Azerbaijan became ADB member on December 22, 1999, the country's participation share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.
The leading shareholders of ADB are Japan and the U.S. (31.2 percent of the total share capital), Indian and China (12.8 percent), Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent) and so on.
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by C.N.