Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association (AMFA) intends to apply the European experience for the development of the country’s microfinance market, AMFA Executive Director Zhala Hajiyeva told Trend May 22.
To this end, in early April, the AMFA signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Polish Microfinance Center, she said.
“We have been members of this organization since 2006, but, having signed the memorandum, we want to cooperate more actively with this organization to introduce international experience in Azerbaijan,” she noted.
She added that AMFA and the Polish Microfinance Center will jointly analyze problems of the local market, implement joint projects on technical support and seek donors for projects in Azerbaijan.
“Now we are in talks with Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA) and discuss in what direction we can support the government,” she said. “For example, this may include expansion of lending by creating new financial instruments or supporting the development of online payments, etc. Based on the results of our negotiations, we will know what kind of European practice we will apply in Azerbaijan.”
Hajiyeva also added that following the talks with the Azerbaijani government, the parties - AMFA and the Polish Microfinance Center - are planning to hold another meeting in October, within the framework of which a platform for further cooperation will be formed.
The Polish Microfinance Center works with 111 organizations, including 77 microfinance institutions. The main objective of the center is to promote responsible financing practice among the members of the center, to help governments in expanding access to finance in their countries, to develop financial education in low-income countries and others.
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