Baku, Azerbaijan, August 8
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The Bank of Georgia and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have signed a five-year loan agreement in the amount of 100 million lari, Trend reports citing commersant.ge.
Financial resources denominated in national currency will be used to finance SMEs. Investments are part of a program entitled "Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs", a global initiative by the International Finance Corporation and Goldman Sachs, one of the world's largest investment banks, to support women entrepreneurs.
According to the program, 25 percent of the loan goes to women entrepreneurs. The IFC will raise funds through the private placement of denominated Eurobonds in lari. The transaction will be carried out by Galt & Taggart, a subsidiary of the Bank of Georgia Group.
“IFC is actively working with the Bank of Georgia to increase lending in lari, which is especially important for the development of small businesses. These enterprises are the driving force behind economic growth," said Jan van Bilsen, IFC Regional Manager for the South Caucasus.
"It should be noted that women entrepreneurs often have limited access to such funding. Our goal is to help finance small businesses, create jobs and accelerate economic growth,” he added.
The goal of the project is to help expand access to finance for women entrepreneurs and increase their level of education in business. This partnership will expand opportunities to work with an experienced local institution that will help more women entrepreneurs expand their businesses.
IFC is a sister organization of the World Bank and a member of the World Bank Group. The WB Group has set two goals for the world to achieve by 2030: to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity in every country.
(1 USD = 2.93 GEL on August 8)
