Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is providing additional funds to Azerbaijan’s AccessBank with a $17-million loan for expanding the lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country, BSTDB said in a message posted on its website.
The proceeds of the three-year loan will facilitate access to finance for industrial, agricultural and service-related SMEs and will contribute to the increase of non-oil sector business in the country, according to the message.
The message also says this is the fifth facility for SME support, extended by BSTDB to AccessBank, bringing the total amount of financing to $54 million since 2005.
Founded in 2002 by BSTDB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), KfW Development Bank, the German Consulting Company LFS Financial Systems (LFS) and Access Microfinance Holding AG, AccessBank is currently the leading provider of financial services to micro, small and medium-sized businesses in Azerbaijan.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank was established by Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, which are the 11 founding countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).