MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Fund for Southeast Europe Loans $23m to AccessBank of Azerbaijan for Rural MSMEs

The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based investor in the development of local financial sectors in Southeast Europe and parts of Central Asia, recently informed MicroCapital that it has loaned EUR 20 million (USD 23 million) to AccessBank, an organization founded in 2002 to provide credit and other financial services to Azerbaijan’s smaller businesses and low-income families. The funds are to be on-lent to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas of the country.