Source: AccessBank.
Baku, December 2 – Today AccessBank received the first USD 12 million tranche of a USD 22 million loan from the German Development Bank KfW. This is the largest loan that AccessBank has received from a single lender and is being provided for a period of five years. KfW is also a shareholder of AccessBank. The funds will be used to AccessBank to provide financing for Micro and Small businesses to help them develop and create employment.
“For KfW the key challenge is to contribute to sustainable economic growth in the non-oil sectors of Azerbaijan”, comments Roland Siller, First Vice President of KfW Development Bank. “We do this through cooperation with professional and capable financial institutions, such as AccessBank, with a strong focus on lending to Micro and Small Enterprises, which are the backbone of a diversified and strong economy in the country.”
General Manger of AccessBank, Dr. Andrew Pospielovsky, said, “AccessBank benefits from having very strong shareholders. Despite the international financial crisis, AccessBank continues to be able to raise new funds and provide financing to thousands more micro and small businesses. In such a way AccessBank and its shareholders are playing a leading role in the development and diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy.”
KfW Development Bank is part of the German government-owned KfW Banking Group. The Group has been active for already 60 years. In 2007 it committed a total of USD 110 billion for projects in Germany, Europe and worldwide. KfW Development Bank is committed to improving the economic and social conditions of people in all developing and transitional countries and has been one of the key players in developing micro and SME finance in Eastern Europe and the CIS over the past 20-years.
AccessBank is the leading Micro and Small business lender in Azerbaijan, disbursing over 4,000 business loans for over USD 20 million every month, with 20 branches across the country.
AccessBank is owned by six shareholders, including: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, KfW – the Development Bank of the German Government (20 percent share each), AccessHolding – a strategic investor in microfinance (16.5 percent), and LFS Financial Systems GmbH – a German consulting company (3.5 percent).
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Enabling Qapital Loans $10m to AccessBank for Microfinance, SME Lending in Azerbaijan
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Venture Lab, Brick & Mortar Ventures Lead $3.4m Equity Raise for Licify to Expand Vende+ Construction Portal from Colombia to Mexico
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EIB Lends Credo Bank $10m for MSMEs in Georgia
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Consult, Mastercard Foundation, Seek to Create 400k Jobs in Ethiopia via Access to Finance, Wraparound Support for MSMEs, Entrepreneurs
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Africa, Sanad Fund Deploying $27m for SME Finance in Morocco
