BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. AccessBank's microcredit portfolio has increased by more than 25 percent year-on-year, and we monthly continue to issue loans in this segment several times more than anyone else on Azerbaijan’s market, David Tsiklauri, Chairman of the Management Board of AccessBank, told Trend.
"The segments and the main directions of our activity are: Firstly, AccessBank will continue to invest capital in micro-loans, and I think, in the coming years, our growth in this segment will be 15-20 percent. Secondly, in 2023 we will be more active in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) than in earlier years. And thirdly, we will continue to enhance our products for the retail segment, which, it is worth noting, doubled last year," said Tsiklauri.
According to the bank's partnership with Azerbaijan’s Entrepreneurship Development Fund, Tsiklauri noted that the maximum target threshold amounted for 2023 exceeded the limit of the previous year.
As a result of the bank's partnership with the fund, 258 entrepreneurs were granted preferential loans in the amount of 7 million manat ($4.1 million) in 2022 to finance various investment projects.
"This tool is a good way to encourage business activity. Over the past year, we fully used this resource, and by the end of 2022, we allocated additional funds for AccessBank, increasing the limit. This year we have been allocated 10 million manat ($5.8 million) from the fund," the chairman said.
In addition, with a view to supporting start-up entrepreneurs, in 2022, the bank allocated a total of more than 45 million manat ($26 million) in the form of business development loans to 4,000 entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 years.
"The economic activity of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is the highest, and in this regard, all our attention is focused on this segment. In this area, we have programs to support not only youth, but also women's entrepreneurship," added Tsiklauri.