PRESS RELEASE: Oil Giant BP Seeks Positive Publicity From Donation of $1m to International Finance Corporation (IFC) Investment in Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan

Source: International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Original press release available here.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN, November 26 – IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and BP on behalf of its co-venturers have today signed a grant agreement to improve access to finance for micro and small enterprises in western Azerbaijan. A $1 million grant from BP will help the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan expand its branch network to the towns of Mingechevir and Gazakh and enhance services in the Ganja branch. The grant will be matched by $2.3 million of IFC and MFBA’s own investments through a separate agreement.

The project will help provide access to loans for micro and small enterprises in all sectors and improve financial intermediation. This will have positive, lasting effects on private investment, job creation, and the socioeconomic conditions in western Azerbaijan. BP’s contribution will be used to support international credit experts and develop local loan officers and branch managers.

“We believe this project will have positive and sustainable effects on private investment, helping create jobs and improve the social and economic environment in Azerbaijan’s western regions. The main focus will be on the communities where BP has economic development operations, especially along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and the South Caucasus pipelines. The project will also benefit a broader group of small businesses in western Azerbaijan by introducing international banking practices,” said Bill Schrader, BP’s President of Strategic Performance in Azerbaijan.

“This new project is part of a larger investment and capacity-building program that IFC and BP have jointly financed and implemented in Azerbaijan to support micro and small enterprises and to increase the impact of the BTC pipeline on local firms and suppliers,” said Shahbaz Mavaddat, IFC Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia.

“The grant will allow us to expand more rapidly in the western regions of Azerbaijan, particularly in areas where local entrepreneurs have limited access to finance and financial services,” said Andrew Pospielovsky, General Manager of the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan.

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