$4.5 Million Microfinance Investment into Azerbaijan Micro Finance Bank Helps Establish Credit Line

The Azerbaijan Micro Finance Bank (AMFB) recently received a $3 million loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and a $1.5 million loan from the Triodos-Doen Foundation to be used as credit lines for small businesses. Established in 2002 by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, and German LFS Financial Systems GmbH, AMFB provides financial services to micro and small business within the country. The bank’s typical microloans are between $400 and $10,000 for a maximum of 9 months. In June 2005, the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association reported that AMFB had a total loan portfolio of more than $11.4 million. It is the only one of the 45 commercial banks in Azerbaijan that focuses on microfinance services.

AMFB’s investor, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, is an “international financial institution” created in 1998 by the governments of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Russia, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine. In 2003, the bank had $1.325 billion in capital, and since its inception, has invested over $430 million in public and private enterprises in its member countries.

Another AMFB investor, The Triodos-Doen Foundation, founded by Dutch Triodos Bank and the Doen Foundation in 1994, provides loans ranging from $200,000 to $1 million for a maximum of five years to microfinance institutions (MFIs). The terms offered to MFIs are “Libor plus full cost plus full risk” and the “interest rate must be sufficient to cover potential devaluation against the Euro plus to cover costs of 8%.” The fund’s total assets stand at $34.822 million; $30.643 million of which has been allocated to microfinance investment.

Additional Resources

1) Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP): “Microfinance Capital Markets Update” is the best source for monthly updates on debt and equity deals in microfinance.
2) “Social and Economic Background of Azerbaijan.”
3) “Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan: Overview.”
4) “Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan: Mission.”
5) “Qualisteam: Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.”
6) Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) Press Release: “Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.”
7) MIX Market: “Triodos-Doen Foundation: Fund Instruments.”
8) MIX Market: “Triodos-Doen Foundation: Fund Description.”
9) “Black Sea Trade and Development Bank: A New Financial Player in the Balkans.”
10) “Microfinance in Azerbaijan.”

Similar Posts: