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Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Conference kicks off in Baku

16 September 2008 13:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Elnur Huseynguluyev - APA-Economics. The Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association 4th Conference has kicked off in Baku.
The two-day conference has been organized to mark the development of Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association over the past 10 years and discuss ways of non-bank lending institutionsâ€™ access to capital market, problems of micro-finance sector in the country, etc.
At the outset, Azerbaijanâ€™s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov addressed the conference, speaking about the development of micro-finance sector, economic growth and social problems in the country.
Ziyad Samadzade, chairman of the parliament commission for economic policy, said this event is a logical product of economic trends in Azerbaijan and will give impetus to the micro-finance sector.
The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Dersi said that micro-finance development ensures financial support to underserved and excluded members of society and also spurs development of small businesses.
â€œThe United States and the United States Agency for International Development are working closely with the Azerbaijan Government and with major donors to promote key macro-economic and structural reforms. On behalf of the American people, USAID has provided this past decade over $20 million in financial, technical, and training support to micro-finance industry participants. We have worked closely with the Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association,â€ she added.
Jala Hajiyeva, Executive Director of Azerbaijan Micro-Finance Association, added that the member banks and non-bank institutions own active loan portfolio of $600 million and a clientele of 290 000.
â€œ$1.18 billion has gone to small and medium-sized businesses up to now,â€ she added.
The event is supported by EBRD, Development World Markets, Finca Azerbaijan, CredAgro Royal Bank of Baku, Turanbank, AccessBank and others.
The conference was attended by About 200 representatives from local and foreign companies, including 60-people delegation from 26 institutions based in 17 countries