BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 8
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
With finance and business advice from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), funded by the European Union (EU), the Turkmen Gerchek company diversified its operations and became the first in the country to launch production of trainers and wellington boots, Trend reports with reference to EBRD.
The report says that the company was able to secure $2 million in financing from the EBRD to invest in the construction of workshops and the purchase of new equipment.
“EBRD’s business advisory program, funded by the EU, the company teamed up with an international adviser who helped improve product quality, organizational structure and marketing, and sales operations,” noted the report.
Currently, the company’s products are distributed in five regions of Turkmenistan and are also exported to neighboring countries.
The annual production is growing and has reached 6 million pairs of flip-flops, more than 40,000 wellington boots, and 80,000 trainers.
As earlier the representative of EBRD Anton Usov told Trend, the EBRD and Turkmenistan will implement new join projects in 2021.
Usov noted that new projects are planned for mid-January of 2021.
In terms of investment plans with Turkmenistan for next year, Usov said that EBRD never has investment plans for future periods in advance because the bank’s activity is demand-driven.
According to the latest data, also given earlier by Usov, EBRD’s portfolio for Turkmenistan amounts to 59 million euros and 34 projects in mid-November.
There were 6 signings with the total value of 11 million Euros with private Turkmen companies in 2019, he says, adding that since the beginning of the EBRD’s operations in the country, the bank has signed 80 projects with a total cumulative Bank investment of 292 million euros.
Supporting private sector development is one of the key strategic priorities for the EBRD in Turkmenistan, he noted earlier.
“In Turkmenistan, the Bank offers a range of products and services to entrepreneurs including long-term finance directly to local private sector firms, guarantees to help borrowers gain access to financing through our Trade Facilitation Programme via local partner-banks, and business advisory services,” added Usov.
Usov earlier said that EBRD provides financing to private companies engaged in manufacturing, food processing and distribution, logistics, transport services, packaging, furniture, hospitality, and others.
“Financial investment projects are at the heart of our operations. But finance alone often cannot meet all challenges facing small and medium-sized businesses. That's why in addition to finance the EBRD helps SMEs access the business advice they need to grow and succeed,” he said.
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