The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has provided a 15 million US dollar loan to Ardshinbank, Armenia to help finance small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The facility has a maturity period of five years, which will enable Ardshinbank to offer much-needed medium-term financing for SMEs capital expenditures and working capital needs. The facility is expected to serve up to 100 SME clients while supporting around 3,600 jobs in Armenia.
Generating up to 40 per cent of GDP, the SME sector development is a core priority of the Government of Armenia and a main objective of the BSTDB country strategy.
“As a development institution, we are happy to contribute towards expanding the SME lending of Ardshinbank, a leading Armenian bank and our longstanding partner, to better serve the rapidly growing funding needs of Armenian entrepreneurs, in line with the national economic policy priorities,” said Dmitry Pankin, the president of BSTDB.
“We firmly believe that this continuing collaboration will create mutually beneficial synergies. This association will enable us to enlarge our lending of SME segment by providing them with access to lending product that helps small businesses get the capital they need to succeed. It offers an additional financing option at favorable conditions, further helping to improve the investment climate in Armenia and benefiting our clients”, said Artak Ananyan, chairman of Ardshinbank’s management board.
BSTDB has been cooperating with Ardshinbank, Armenia’s second-largest bank, since 2012, having already provided a mortgage financing and two SME loan facilities, totalling 28 million US dollars.
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