Coop between entrepreneurs & finance-banking sector discussed

By Azernews 

Qabil Ashirov

The Cooperation Council with Entrepreneurs under the Board of Directors of the Central Bank held a regular meeting, Azernews reports.

According to the received information, the representatives of relevant institutions, including the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA), also participated in the meeting.

Chairman of SMBDA Orkhan Mammadov informed about the access to financial resources of SMEs, the applications received by the agency in this field, and the results of the conducted surveys.

“He noted that one of the difficulties faced by SMEs in Azerbaijan is related to access to financial sources. Although there are a number of support mechanisms in this area, they are not sufficient in terms of meeting the need for financial resources of entrepreneurs. During the meetings with entrepreneurs and conducted surveys, business subjects reported high loan interest rates, non-acceptance of collateral in the regions by banks, high-interest rates on cashing operations, etc. they mention the issues. The level of use of alternative financial instruments is not satisfactory,” he noted.

The meeting discussed further strengthening of cooperation between entrepreneurs and the finance-banking sector, further improvement of business access to financial services, and proposals.