Azerbaijan joined IFC in 1995. As of December 2007, IFC has committed more than $246 million of its own funds and has arranged over $104 million in syndications. Despite a difficult business environment, IFC has been seeking investment opportunities to support the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan.
In 2007, IFC committed $18 million in ADA to establish a food retail chain in Azerbaijan. In 2004, IFC invested in the ACG Phase 1 oil field as part of a $3.2 billion project to develop an oil field off Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea. IFC also provided $125 million of its own funds and helped mobilize another $125 million for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which will run through Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Mediterranean cost of Turkey. In the past, IFC has invested in other key sectors, including oil and gas, food and beverage, finance and insurance, and hotel, hospitality, and tourism services.
Recognizing the importance of the small and medium-size enterprise sector to Azerbaijan’s development, IFC will continue to support local companies by building the capacity of financial institutions that serve SMEs. IFC helped expand availability of credit lines for small businesses and worked to establish the Microfinance Bank of Azerbaijan, the first commercial microfinance bank in the country. In addition, IFC has invested in a regional equity investment fund, the SEAF Central Asia Small Enterprise Fund, which provides equity, quasi-equity, and debt financing to growth-oriented enterprises in the Central Asia region. More on investments in Azerbaijan.
Advisory Services
IFC’s advisory work in Azerbaijan has focused on creating opportunities in the non-oil sectors. One of the main priorities for advisory services is building a strong financial markets infrastructure to support private sector and SME growth. Other program highlights include a leasing development project, an SME linkages program, corporate governance projects, as well as planned programs aimed at developing the housing finance market and improving the business enabling environment. More on advisory projects in Azerbaijan.
