Baku, Azerbaijan, December 29
,
2014—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping TuranBank expand lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Azerbaijan, allowing those businesses to grow, create jobs, and contribute to the country’s economic development.
IFC is providing a $7 million loan to TuranBank, which will help meet the lender’s long-term funding needs and support the growth of its MSME portfolio. Access to finance is one of the key challenges for smaller enterprises in Azerbaijan. IFC’s loan will address this by supporting the bank’s efforts to reach underserved businesses and low-income entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas.
"We highly value the next stage of cooperation with IFC,” said Nazim Sadigov, Chairman of the Management Board of TuranBank. “With support from IFC, the bank’s MSME lending capacity will expand, contributing to sustainable development and helping reduce the country’s dependence on the oil and gas sector.”
Aliya Azimova, IFC Country Representative in Azerbaijan, said: “Our cooperation with TuranBank is part of our efforts to help promote the growth of private companies outside the oil sector, supporting the diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy. IFC’s investment aims to create greater economic opportunities for entrepreneurs who plan to set up companies or intend to expand them.”
IFC has been working with TuranBank since 2009, starting with a corporate governance program, continuing with SME banking and risk management advisory programs. In 2011, IFC provided the bank with a $7 million loan to increase lending to small-scale entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan. IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) has recently provided a series of training programs to help the bank process trade transactions.
Azerbaijan became a member of IFC in 1995. Since then IFC has invested $414 million in 73 projects in the financial services, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors, and mobilized $73 million from other lenders. IFC has also implemented advisory projects focused on developing the private sector.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
Stay Connected
