OREANDA-NEWS. December 3, 2007. BP on behalf of its co-venturers, through its Regional Development Initiative, on November 29 signed a $1 million grant agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to support access to finance for micro and small enterprises (MSE) in Azerbaijan's western regions, the British Petroleum press service reported.

This new project will enable the Micro Finance Bank of Azerbaijan (MFBA) to expand its branch network to the towns of Mingechevir and Gazakh through opening one new branch in each of these towns, as well as to enhance services in its Ganja branch. The expansion is matched by $2.3 million of IFC’s and MFBA’s own investments through a separate agreement.

This follows the successful launch of the Supplier Finance Facility (SFF) - an important project in support of local business development funded by BP and its co-venturers jointly with IFC, and implemented by MFBA.

The new project is designed to help provide access to loans to MSEs and entrepreneurs in the trade and agriculture sectors, as well as improved financial intermediation. BP’s and its co-venturers' contribution will be specifically used to finance international credit experts and the development of professional local loan officers and branch managers.

"We believe the project will have sustainable positive effects on private investment, job generation and the socio-economic situation in the affected regions. While this is an important expansion to our local business support efforts, during its implementation preferences will be given to supporting access to finance in the communities where BP has interventions on economic development - along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) routes. However we expect that by introducing up to date international banking practices the project will also bring benefits to much broader groups of small businesses in the western regions of the country," says Bill Schrader, BP’s President in Azerbaijan.

"This new project is part of a large multi-year program of investment and capacity building that IFC, BP and its co-venturers have jointly financed and implemented in Azerbaijan to support micro and small enterprises in general and to increase the positive impact of the BTC pipeline on local firms and suppliers," said Shahbaz Mavaddat, IFC Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia.