Scoop.co.nz, New Zealand
Jan 9 2008
Small Businesses In Armenia To Receive Boost
Wednesday, 9 January 2008, 11:27 am
Press Release: United Nations
Small businesses in Armenia to receive boost from UN rural
development fund
The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) announced today that it will spend over $12 million for a new
project in Armenia to help develop microenterprises with potential
for rapid growth.
The Farmer Market Access Programme will provide loans to rural and
peri-urban Armenians to develop profitable on- and off-farm small
businesses who do not qualify for conventional bank loans.
"Once they are able to access credit, poor rural producers will have
many more opportunities to develop profitable and commercially viable
products and services all along the market value chain," said Henning
Pedersen, IFAD’s country programme manager for Armenia.
An increase in the number of rural enterprises will also spur job
creation, he added.
IFAD will contribute $11.9 million in loans and $500,000 in grants,
while the OPEC Fund for International Development will supply $10
million. Other co-financers for the $32.2 million programme include
the Armenian Government and financial institutions.
Applicants for the project’s funds must show that their prospective
enterprise will generate sustainable income growth among target
groups, including farmers as well as unemployed, under-employed and
self-employed people. Preference will be given to those who engage
women as suppliers and employees.
The project also aims to arm participants with the knowledge,
technology and infrastructure to help them profit from domestic and
export markets.
Improving access to roads, small-scale irrigation and village gas
supplies are also emphasized by the programme, with participants
contributing a minimum of 10 per cent in cash or kind to offset
infrastructure costs.
In an innovative move, the project’s main financing instrument will
be a venture capital fund, the Fund for Rural Economic Development in
Armenia (FREDA).