A Management Board change has taken place in the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan. Mr Anar Gasanov, who was one of the first people employed by MFBA when it was created in 2002, succeeded LFS Consultant Claudia Muller as Operations Manager and Member of the Management Board. The change took effect today, upon Mr Gasanov's successful accreditation by the National Bank of Azerbaijan. Ms Claudia Mueller will leave for LFS Headquarters in Berlin after two years of successfully creating and developing the Retail and Operations business in MFBA.
MFBA employees are trained by international consultants whose mission is to localise the management of the bank. Today MFBA employs over 550 local staff and most of the management positions are already filled by Azeris.
MFBA was created to perform a dual role in developing the Azeri economy - to finance the growth of small business, and to assist the development of the banking sector as a whole through training and developing local staff and expertise.
Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan is 100% foreign owned by six international organizations: the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, KfW Development Bank - the Development Bank of the German Government, LFS Financial Systems GmbH - a German consulting company, and Access Holding - a leading investor in microfinance.