BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 25. The volume of loans provided to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan reached 1.8 billion manat ($1 billion) as of the end of January 2025.
Data obtained by Trend from the Central Bank indicates that this figure represents an increase of 31 million manat ($18.2 billion), or 1.7 percent, compared to the end of 2024 (1.8 billion manat ($1 billion)).
Additionally, the total business loan portfolio of banks operating in Azerbaijan amounted to 14.7 billion manat ($8.6 billion) by the end of January. This represents an increase of 13.9 percent, or 1.7 billion manat ($1 billion), compared to the previous year when the business loan portfolio stood at 12.9 billion manat ($7.5 billion).
As many as 4,150 SMEs are operating in Azerbaijan as of January 1, 2024, with the majority in the retail trade and vehicle repair sector (1,423), and the smallest number in other sectors (47).