NFES offering concessional financing to entrepreneurs
By Vusala Abbasova
Azerbaijan continues to support its entrepreneurs by financing the implementation of their investment projects from the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) under the country's Economic Development Ministry.
Until now, concessional financing worth 2.5 million manats (over $2.3 million) has been allocated to roughly 303 entrepreneurs from the Yardimli region, Shirzad Abdullayev, the NFES executive director, stated during a business forum in the Chaiyuzu village of Yardimli region.
The forum was held to grant concessional loans for investment projects that will help to create more than 650 new jobs.
The NFES has also expressed its readiness to allocate concessional loans to entrepreneurs from the Yardimli region during another forum, which was attended by 80 entrepreneurs.
Abdullayev noted that concessional loans worth 103.9 million manats were allocated to 2,697 entrepreneurs from the Lankaran economic region. The allocated concessional loans in the region helped to create more than 11,000 new jobs in the region.
Following the forum, as many as 67 entrepreneurs received concessional loans amounting to 563,500 manats.
The NFES has begun accepting investment projects from entrepreneurs in Mingachevir city during a business forum held in the city on November 6.
The NFES discussed the city's economic potential with the entrepreneurs in order to ensure optimal utilization of the funds.
In addition, offers are being accepted from business entities to finance investment projects to create a specialized "green market" as well as from enterprises for the production of plastic windows and doors, roofs, metal doors, plastic utensils, plastic bags, and socks.
The NFES provides entrepreneurs with loans via authorized banks and non-bank credit organizations.
Earlier this year, the NFES had held a business forum in the Agjabedi region, where it announced its readiness to allocate concessional financing worth over 159.7 million manats (over $152.4 million) to roughly 4,200 entrepreneurs.
The NFES was established in 1992 to fund investment projects in different regions of Azerbaijan in order to support national entrepreneurship.
The state budget will provide 100 million manats (over $95 million) to the NFES in 2015. Additional funds will be sourced from the 130 million manats (over $123 million) worth of loans repaid earlier. Thus, the volume of funds accumulated in the NFES will reach 1.747 billion manats (over $1,664 billion), including state budget allocations totaling 931 million manats (over $887 million) and repaid loans totaling 816.3 million manats (over $777.7 million).
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