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Norwegian Microcredit LLC marks 10th anniversary in Azerbaijan

10 November 2008 12:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Elnur Huseynguluyev â€“ APA-Economics. Norwegian Microcredit LLC (â€œNorMicroâ€) non-bank lending institution is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Bahman Asgarov, Director General of NorMicro, spoke about achievements, financial performance and future plans, saying the loan portfelio has reached $14 million.
â€œThe institutionâ€™s service area covers 13 000 customers in 20 regions of the country. About 48 000 loans worth $50 000 in total were lend to 16 000 refugees and IDPs over the past 10 years,â€ he added.
Jala Hajiyeva, Executive Director of Azerbaijan Microfinance Association (AMFA), added that NorMicro has pioneered in the field of micro-crediting since the inception of micro-credit programs in 1998.
â€œThere are 300 000 active customers in the micro-credit market. In total $500 million has been lent to them. Investment in micro-finance sector has exceeded $1 billion during 10 years. There has been good growth rate in the field of micro-finance over two years. AMFA will continue to support micro-finance lending institutions,â€ she added.
NorMicro has been operating in Azerbaijan since 1998 and is gradually expanding its regional presence.
NorMicro offers loans for 48 months at 3% per annum.
The companyâ€™s loan portfolio is $3.8 million.