BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 18. Azerbaijan will be among the first countries launching a new Sharia-based SME financing platform, Head of Line of Finance at the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), Ulan Abylgaziev, said during the 14th Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group Private Sector Forum, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
" ICD has launched a new platform to mobilize Sharia-compliant financing to support small and medium-sized enterprises, with Azerbaijan becoming one of the first countries to implement it," he explained.
He noted that cooperation with SME development funds is taking place in several stages.
"The first stage involved developing the institutional capacity of our partners.
We began with capacity building, working with the SME fund to develop their capabilities in providing Islamic finance. They have now been working in this area for several years and have supported thousands of SMEs across the country.
The second stage involves discussing the provision of capital in national currency to expand financing for small and medium-sized businesses.
The third area of cooperation, he said, is the creation of a risk-sharing platform.
"We are discussing the creation of a platform jointly with the SME Fund, where our financing will be supplemented by partial risk guarantees from the Fund," said Abylgaziev.
He emphasized that similar mechanisms could be scaled up to other countries, including Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
"We'll begin with Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and other participating countries to mobilize investments from like-minded partners.
Special attention is being paid to integrating financing into global value chains," he said.
Abylgaziev also announced the launch of a new platform to attract Sharia-compliant financing for SMEs in participating countries.
"The initiative aims to expand cooperation between international development institutions and national funds, as well as to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses," he noted.
