Finance

Home page

Finance

EBRD and EU to support Azerbaijani SMEs within EaP

18 December 2020 12:48 (UTC +04:00)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are scaling up their support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine (EaP) amid a severe economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, APA-Economics reports citing EBRD.

Backed by €5 million in EU grant funding, the EBRD’s advisory services aim to address the needs of SMEs and foster their growth by engaging with local and international consultants.

A new programme will support companies in adopting digital technologies for uninterrupted operations, boosting their competitiveness and export potential, increasing their chances of accessing the finances needed to grow. The programme is a continuation of a larger EBRD-EU effort to unlock SMEs’ growth in EaP countries through business advice and international expertise. Over the next three years, more than 250 SMEs are expected to receive such advisory services.

Lawrence Meredith, Director for Neighbourhood East and Institution Building, European Commission, stated: ”As part of its Team Europe response to the coronavirus outbreak, the European Commission mobilised an emergency support package for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It included a new €100 million support programme to help SMEs and a facilitation, acceleration and adaptation of €200 million of existing credit lines and grants to SMEs in local currency through the EU4Business Initiative.”