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NFES issues soft loans worth over $91 million

10 August 2016 12:28 (UTC+04:00)
NFES issues soft loans worth over $91 million

By Nigar Abbasova

Azerbaijan National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) has allocated approximately 91.5 million manats ($57.1 million) on easy terms since early 2016, while about 1,542 entrepreneurs made use of means allocated by the fund.

NFES CEO Shirzad Abdullayev, addressing the business forum dedicated to the issue of easy credits to entrepreneurs, mentioned that the financial means are expected to give a stimulus for the creation of more than 4,600 new jobs.

The fund has so far allocated some 326.4 million manats ($ 203.9 million) for financing 1,284 investment projects on the creation of logistics centers, poultry factories, stock-raising complexes, bread-baking plant, enterprises for the manufacture of building materials, dried fruit as well as large farm enterprises. The Fund has issued easy credits worth 3.2 million manats ($ 1.9 million) to 20 entrepreneurs within the framework of the forum.

The amount of funds to be allocated by the NFES is expected to reach the level of 250 million manats ($156.2 million) in 2016 with some 70 million manats ($43.7) being provided by budgetary funds

Earlier, MP Rufat Guliyev talking to Trend mentioned that the government of the country is planning to offer an alternative to easy credits for entrepreneurs engaged in small business and is drafting a new program on the support of business entities, which envisages assignment of ready mini projects to them. The program is expected to be an alternative to easy credits in the future.

Allocation of funds by NFES is aimed at the mitigating of the impact of global economic crisis to the national economy and minimization of its dependence on the oil sector. The country takes steps in its bid to diversify the national economy and provide for the development of entrepreneurship in the country.

Azerbaijan currently ranks 63 out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index.

The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support was established in 1992. Loans are allocated to entrepreneurs through authorized banks and non-bank lenders.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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