OREANDA-NEWS. January 30, 2012. Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) today signed a loan agreement with OJSC "Araratbank" to the amount of USD4 m for 3 years for purposes of financing a micro-crediting program in Armenia, reported the press-centre of KASE.

The loan is being provided under the Eurasian Development Bank program for support of micro-crediting by way of providing target loan facilities to financial institutions.

However, JSC "Araratbank" will itself pick up borrowers - individuals and corporations meeting EDB criteria: the staff of a borrower should not exceed 50 persons. Sub-loans of up to one hundred thousand dollars will be provided for up to three years.

Implementation of the project between EDB and Araratbank will help create favourable conditions for sustainable development of micro- and small businesses in the Republic of Armenia, develop a competitive environment and through that increase production volumes, extend products and services range, improve their quality. In such a way, supporting the micro- and small businesses in Armenia will allow reaching a significant effect in terms of development for market economy in Armenia.