Azerbaijan, Baku, August 26 / Trend /
On August 26 the Micro loan portfolio of the Ganja branch of AccessBank passed $15 million, making it the leading Micro-lending branch in Azerbaijan and marking a record for the Bank.
Since the beginning of the year AccessBank has maintained its strong pace of development in all its service areas, despite the difficult situation in global financial markets.
Growth has been particularly swift in the Ganja branch.
Growth has been particularly swift in the Ganja branch with its Micro loan portfolio increasing by 30 percent, from $11.6m to $15 million this year. The Ganja branch leads the bank in disbursals as well, lending to more than 500 entrepreneurs per month, and with more than 8,500 credit clients in its portfolio.
As part of this growth, the Ganja branch is also making a significant contribution to the development of agriculture in the region via the Agro loan product, which, incidentally, was named the "best new product of the year" at last year's conference of the Azerbaijan Micro Finance Association. The lending team at Ganja is disbursing more than 250 Agro loans per month, helping to satisfy the needs of rural economies not only in the Ganja, but in the surrounding areas as well.
AccessBank is supporting the development of more than 60,000 entrepreneurs via Micro loans and contributes to the growth of small enterprises throughout Azerbaijan, assisting in the diversification and modernization of the economy while also offering new employment opportunities to the area.
AccessBank's mission is to provide access to financial services for Azerbaijan's low and middle income households and micro and small businesses. AccessBank is 100 percent foreign owned by six shareholders, consisting of: the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, KfW Development Bank - the Development Bank of the German Government (20 percent each), Access Microfinance Holding acting in microfinance field as a strategic investor (16.5 percent), and LFS Financial Systems GmbH - a German consulting company (3.5 percent). AccessBank has been recognized as the most reliable private bank in Azerbaijan by Fitch Ratings which assigned it the highest rating among private banks (BB+).
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