The multilateral Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently raised AZN 14.5 million (USD 8.5 million) from UK-based Record Currency Management and Germany-based Capitulum Asset Management to fund inclusive finance for women and agriculture in Azerbaijan. The funding is channeled through
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Enabling Qapital Loans $10m to AccessBank for Microfinance, SME Lending in Azerbaijan
Enabling Qapital Limited, a Switzerland-based investment advisory company, recently issued a loan of AZN 17 million (USD 10 million) to AccessBank, which was founded in 2002 to provide credit and other financial services to smaller businesses and low-income families in Azerbaijan. The three-year loan is to be used
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank Respublika of Azerbaijan Borrows $8m from EMF Microfinance Fund for On-lending to SMEs
Switzerland-based investing firm Enabling Qapital recently disbursed a subordinated loan of USD 8 million from its Enabling Microfinance Fund (EMF) to Bank Respublika, which focuses on
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 3rd CIS Islamic Banking and Finance Forum; May 25-27, 2022; Baku, Azerbaijan
The organizers of this forum aim to promote Islamic finance in the nine-member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Islamic finance is that which is compliant with Shariah law, such as by an investor sharing profit and loss rather than charging interest for a loan. The main event is on May 25, followed by a post-event workshop on May 26 and May 27. The topics on the agenda for the first day of the forum include takaful – Islamic insurance – as well as how Islamic
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $10m to Bank Respublika to Support Women, Youth, Entrepreneurs Struggling with COVID-19 Pandemic in Azerbaijan
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently loaned the equivalent of USD 10 million in local currency as a senior term loan to Bank Respublika, a commercial institution in Azerbaijan. The funds are intended to reduce
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Expands Microfinance Fintech in Uganda, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan
FINCA Impact Finance, a US-based network of financial institutions, recently carried out several campaigns catering to low-income people through its affiliates in Africa and Asia.
FINCA Uganda launched a “Digital is Here” campaign in partnership with Centenary Bank, a commercial institution serving 1.8 million customers
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Azerpost, IFC Expanding Rural Mobile Financial Services with Postal Service to Act as Agent for Banks in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s postal services company, Azerpost, is partnering with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to boost financial literacy in the country and introduce a mobile wallet service, with a particular focus on reaching rural areas. The effort, which is supported by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO), builds on the recent rollout of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Azerbaijan Implements Movable Collateral Registry, Credit Bureau with Technical Assistance from IFC, Funding from SECO
The government of Azerbaijan, with technical assistance from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), has instituted a series of regulatory reforms to improve financial infrastructure in the country. The Azerbaijan Financial Advisory Services program, which was
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IFC, Azerbaijan to Expand Digital Financial Services in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Funding from Switzerland’s SECO
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) recently began working with the government of Azerbaijan to implement a cashless payment system in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a self-governing territory in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: AlHuda, Azerbaijan’s SER Agree to Promote Islamic Finance in the Caucasus
Two NGOs, the Pakistan-based AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking & Economics (CIBE) and Azerbaijan’s Studying of Economic Resources (SER) Public Union recently announced they will collaborate to promote Islamic finance in Azerbaijan and other countries in the Caucasus region.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Iceland’s Creditinfo Launches Credit Bureau in Azerbaijan; 21 Local Financial Institutions Hold Equity Stakes
Creditinfo Group, an Iceland-based operator of credit reporting firms in 25 markets worldwide, recently launched a credit bureau in Azerbaijan that it co-owns with 21 financial institutions in the country. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, participated in developing
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: World Bank Group’s Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Project III to Unify Credit Data to Support Lending Based on Movable Collateral in Tajikistan
The World Bank Group, a multilateral financial institution serving developing countries, has launched the “Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Project III”, the third phase of a project which includes an effort to improve the efficiency of the credit reporting system in Tajikistan. Specifically, the new credit system will allow Tajikistan’s credit reporting providers to offer data through a combined platform, allowing lenders to analyze loan risks using credit histories gleaned from multiple credit bureaus at one time. The project, which is being carried out in cooperation with the National Bank of Tajikistan, the central bank of the country, and the government of Tajikistan, is meant to promote the use of movable assets as collateral for lending and also includes efforts to expand financial education.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $25m to Azerbaijan’s AccessBank for Micro-, Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that aims to increase economic growth in developing countries, recently announced that it will provide a subordinated loan of USD 25 million to AccessBank, a microfinance bank in Azerbaijan that is associated with Germany’s Access Microfinance Holding AG (AccessHolding), to enable it to serve more micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Azerbaijan’s National Postal Operator to Start Microlending
Azerbaijan’s Communications and High Technologies Ministry recently announced that Azerpoçt, the country’s government-backed postal service provider, plans to start microlending as a part of the ministry’s plans to expand its credit offerings.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EFSE Loans $20m to AccessBank to Finance Micro-, Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Rural Azerbaijan
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), a Luxembourg-based microfinance investment vehicle (MIV), recently issued a USD 20 million senior loan to AccessBank, an organization founded in 2002 to provide credit and other financial services to smaller businesses and low-income families in Azerbaijan.
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.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Loans $7m to TuranBank of Azerbaijan to Fund Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Rural Enterprises
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the US-based World Bank Group that offers financial services to businesses and governments in developing countries with the aim of increasing economic growth, recently announced that it will loan USD 7 million to TuranBank Open Joint Stock Company (TuranBank), a retail and corporate bank in Azerbaijan.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Syndicates $30m Loan to Microfinance Institution FINCA Azerbaijan Including $15m From Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB)
FINCA Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan-based subsidiary of the US-based nonprofit microfinance network Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) recently received a multi-currency, syndicated loan worth USD 30 million from the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership that aims to promote growth in developing economies, with the participation of Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of the Austrian government. Each institution will invest the equivalent of USD 15 million, and additional commitments totalling USD 10 million are expected from various international commercial investors and asset managers. The loan facility has a term of five years and the equivalent of USD 15 million of the principal is denominated in local currency [1].