Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 10 / Trend, H. Valiyev, E. Aliyev/
Azerbaijan is completing works on the organization of the State Fund for Support of Information and Communication Technologies, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Elmir Velizade told journalists on Tuesday.
According to him, the fund will finance the projects of new companies, companies which have already strengthened in the Azerbaijani market, as well as IT-projects implemented abroad.
The State Fund for the Support of ICT envisages stimulation of the ICT sector in Azerbaijan, as well as providing preferential credits and grants for companies.
All categories of the country's population will also be able to use the advantages of the State Fund of ICT Development.
Entrepreneurship subjects will be able to obtain small, medium and large credits. The sum of small credits may vary from 10,000 to 50,000 manats (for a period of three years), medium from 50,000 to 500,000 manats (for a period of five years), and large - from 500,000 to 5 million manats (for 10 years). The rate of interest on credits will not exceed five percent annually.
The maximum sum of the grant may amount to 300,000 manats. Small grants are envisaged in the amount from 10,000 to 100,000 manats, medium - from 100,000 to 200,000 manats and large from 200,000 to 300,000 manats.
Initial volume of the funding of the State Fund will amount to 15 million manats, which have been built into the State Budget for 2013.
The official exchange rate for September 10 is 0.7845 AZN/USD.