Agropark to appear in Ganja
By Rashid Shirinov
A new agropark will be created in Ganja city, Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry reported on December 22.
A soft loan for the project was approved within the framework of a business forum in Ganja organized by the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support Fund (NFES). The forum involved nearly 150 entrepreneurs.
At the forum, 43 entrepreneurs received loans totaling $4.08 million. These funds will be directed at implementation of projects on creation of animal and vegetable farms, pastry production, marble, glass, plastic doors and windows, as well as at tourism development. Realization of these projects will open almost 250 new jobs.
Addressing the forum, Deputy Executive Director of NFES Arif Valimammadov noted that to date, the Fund has allocated $22 million for Ganja entrepreneurs for implementation of 481 investment projects.
In general, the entrepreneurs of Ganja-Gazakh economic region received preferential loans of $127.5 million.
In 2016, the Fund provided preferential loans of $112 million to entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan, including about $39 million allocated at the expense of budgetary funds.
The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support was established in 1992. Loans are allocated to entrepreneurs through authorized banks and non-bank lenders.
Allocation of soft loans is directed at countering the effect of the global economic crisis to the Azerbaijani economy and minimization of the country’s dependence on the oil sector by improving other industries throughout Azerbaijan. The country takes steps to diversify the national economy and provide for the development of the agricultural and other spheres.
Under the recent presidential decree, a responsibility of controlling the process of return of soft loans by entrepreneurs has been transferred from the Central Bank of Azerbaijan to the Financial Markets Supervision Chamber.
Currently, Azerbaijan ranks 63 out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, and work to improve this index even more is being implemented.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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