ArmInfo.The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has initiated assistance to twelve partner banks in Armenia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan to help them improve their efficiency in providing financial instruments and assessing projects submitted for consideration by small and medium-sized enterprises.
As the press service of the Bank reports, this was made possible by a special project launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the EDB, Strengthening Capacities for Sustainable Development Finance in the CIS Region. The main funding for the project comes from the Russian Federation-UNDP Trust Fund for Development. A training programme was developed based a study conducted by a UNDP international consultant to identify the banks' current needs. The curriculum included risk and compliance management, process optimisation, information technology and information security, credit scoring models, digital marketing, performance management, and employee motivation. Under this programme, international consultancy agencies conducted face-to-face and online training sessions for 170 employees of the EDB's partner banks.
In addition, as part of the UNDP and EDB project, an international consultant reviewed best practices used by international development institutions in financing second-tier banks, which can be tailored to the CIS market. The review analysed experiences in promoting energy efficiency and sustainable agricultural production, as well as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. As a result, the existing loan facilities have been adjusted and 17 new credit products have been proposed. The EDB has also developed new instruments to finance second-tier partner banks on comfortable and feasible terms.
"An efficient and stable financial sector is an important component of sustainable growth in the EDB economies. The Bank has a long history of funding financial institutions in its countries of operation through SME, microfinance, trade finance, and other programmes that support banks and other financial institutions. We were pleased with our fruitful cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, which has enabled our partner banks to further strengthen their development capacity in various areas of their operations," said Amangeldy Issenov, Vice Chairman of the EDB Management Board.
