Representatives of Azerbaijan’s Agency for Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) (KOBIA) were on a visit to the UK, where Chairman of the Board of KOBIA Orkhan Mammadov held a series of meetings with heads of the functional units of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
At a meeting with Head of the EBRD’s program for development of SMEs Nadia Petkova, information on KOBIA activities was provided, issues discussed on cooperation between the EBRD and KOBIA, implementation of programs envisaged to support and finance startups in Azerbaijan, as well as SMEs based on international best practice.
At the meetings with Matthew Jordan-Tank and Michel Nussbaumer, representatives of Infrastructure Policy and Project Preparation (IPPF) and the Legal Transition Program (LTP) at EBRD, an exchange of views was held on projects being implemented by the bank for the development of SMEs in Azerbaijan, new areas of cooperation prepared by the EBRD in the relevant areas for the future period.
As a result of discussions, such areas of cooperation were identified as exploring the possibilities of potential cooperation in the development of entrepreneurship, integration of KOBIA into the EBRD’s global small and medium business network, preparation of projects within the partnership in the state-private sector, the use of technical support mechanisms by the bank for the development of SMEs.
