Cooperation Council with Entrepreneurs under Management Board of Central Bank holds next meeting

09-03-2023

9 March 2023, Baku: The Cooperation Council with Entrepreneurs established to further strengthen the cooperation between the financial and banking sector and entrepreneurs, as well as to gradually improve business access to financial services held its next meeting.

Addressing the meeting Taleh Kazimov, Governor of the Central Bank, stressed the importance of economic diversification processes from the point of view of maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability in the country in mid-term and long-term perspective, and pointed out that the Financial Sector Development Strategy is currently being prepared by the Central Bank, which reflects priority issues towards solution of problems in the financial sector. He noted that in the real sector, especially in the regions and rural areas, work is continuing to expand access of businesses to financial resources.

Managers of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Organizations (NCEO), the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA), the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA), the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Travel Agencies Association and other organizations spoke at the meeting and told that, the work of the Cooperation Council with Entrepreneurs serving as an active platform for dialogue between entrepreneurs and the financial and banking sector contributes to the development of manufacturing and service sectors in general, the diversification of the national economy, as well as further acceleration of economic growth in the non-oil sector by creating conditions for expanding the access of businesses to financial and banking services.    

Meeting participants highlighted the issues of intencifying bank lending in the real sector of economy, strengthening the activities of investment companies to accelerate economic development of regions, expanding the volume of concessional loans and directing them more to the development of small and medium enterprises, eliminating the problems faced by entrepreneurs in the regions in securing collateral (especially regarding the registration of movable property as collateral), considering the use of alternative financial instruments such as Islamic banking for the development of the real sector, as well as agriculture, facilitating financial and banking services for entrepreneurs, organizing trainings to improve financial literacy of entrepreneurs, as well as holding discussions with entrepreneurs on the preparation and amendments of relevant draft laws, as well as the support measures of the Central Bank as a regulator and other issues. The importance of informing entrepreneurs by the Central Bank about the processes taking place in the national economy, analyses and research results related to their consequences was emphasized.

Later, there were extensive discussions on issues of relevance to entrepreneurs and banks.

Summarizing the findings of the discussions T. Kazimov noted the usefulness of the meeting and expressed his support for the proposals seconded at the meeting. He told that the issues raised and the proposals seconded at the meeting will be studied in depth followed by joint work on the said directions.

At the end of the meeting, he expressed confidence that with the ongoing social and economic reforms in the country, business participants will be able to take advantage of the opportunities created by a strong and stable financial system on a larger scale.