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Azerbaijan offers expanding access to manat loans for its microfinance organizations

Business Materials 6 October 2017 10:55 (UTC +04:00)
It is necessary to expand access for Azerbaijan’s microfinance organizations to manat loans.

Details added (first version posted at 10:38)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

By Azad Hasanli – Trend:

It is necessary to expand access for Azerbaijan’s microfinance organizations to manat loans, according to Chairman of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association Suleyman Kalyashev.

Addressing the 5th Investors’ Fair, titled “Future of Micro-finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities” in Baku, he noted that supporting microfinance organizations can help not only develop economy, but also improve the welfare of the population.

Kalyashev reminded that the global crisis affected Azerbaijan as well.

“As a result, devaluation of the national currency in Azerbaijan, and in order to weaken its effect on borrowers, microfinance organizations restructured loans, wrote off penalties for overdue loans, and carried out a number of other activities,” he said.

It is necessary to rehabilitate financial organizations for the situation to stabilize, according to him.

“We believe that support from the government and shareholders can help solve the problems of microfinance organizations,” Kalyashev added.

Among the measures that can help develop the microfinance market, he pointed out the need to review the legislation regarding non-bank credit organizations.

He noted that currently, the number of borrowers of microfinance organizations is gradually reducing in Azerbaijan.

“If in 2015, the number of clients of microfinance organizations in Azerbaijan exceeded 600,000 people, this number reduced to 298,000 people in 2016 and 118,000 people in 2017. Meanwhile, during the same period, microfinance organizations’ loan portfolio decreased from 800 million manats to 80.1 million manats.”

Baku hosts the 5th Investors’ Fair, titled “Future of Micro-finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities”. More than 100 representatives of the financial sector of Azerbaijan and other countries are taking part in the event.

(1.7002 AZN = $1 on Oct. 6)

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