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IFC picks one more Azeri lending institution for corporate governance project

20 May 2009 16:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping CredAgro, a leading microfinance institution in Azerbaijan, improve corporate governance practices and strengthen its capacity to better serve and promote sustainable development of entrepreneurs in rural areas.

CredAgro is the first microfinance institution to join IFCâ€™s Azerbaijan Corporate Governance Project, which works with local companies to help them become more sustainable. IFC will assess the companyâ€™s corporate governance practices and develop tailored improvement plans to help align it with international best practices.

â€œGood corporate governance will increase the efficacy of our mission to enable access to finance for microentrepreneurs, particularly in underserved areas,â€ said Eldar Jafarov, General Director of CredAgro.

â€œConsidering our plans to restructure the company, IFCâ€™s tailored assistance offers a great opportunity to improve our governance standards.â€

IFC will advise and train directors, managers, and key shareholders of the institution. IFC will also help revise corporate documents, improve financial reporting and information disclosure, internal control, and internal audit functions.

â€œAs the microfinance industry is important for private sector development, we are pleased that CredAgro, one of the leading microfinance institutions, is committed to improving its corporate governance practices,â€ noted Tania Lozansky, Head of Advisory Services for Europe and Central Asia. â€œWe believe that better corporate governance at microfinance institutions will further benefit the ultimate customers and small and micro entrepreneurs, in particular, in the rural areas.â€

CredAgro is a nonbank financial institution that serves some 15,000 microenterprises. It holds 17 percent of Azerbaijanâ€™s total microfinance loan portfolio.

Since 2005 IFCâ€™s Corporate Governance Project has been helping local companies and banks enhance operations and increase their ability to attract financing and investment.