The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has provided $103 million in financing in Azerbaijan to date.
elchi reports that this was stated by Hojamurod Hojaev, General Manager of the Relationship Management and Trade Finance Department of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), during the presentation of the Islamic Development Bank Group on the Private Sector in Azerbaijan, held in preparation for the Islamic Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings.
He noted that the organization currently has two active partners in Azerbaijan: “These are Rabitabank and TuranBank. $10 million has been allocated to each bank.
These financial resources are intended to offer funded and unfunded trade finance solutions to SMEs in Azerbaijan.
In addition to trade finance, we also have a trade development component. Through this component, we have organized several capacity-building activities and seminars on trade and Islamic finance, in which beneficiaries from Azerbaijan’s financial sector and banks have also participated.”
He noted that Azerbaijan also plays an important role in the design and approval of the “Trade Connect Central Asia Plus” program, which is ITFC’s flagship program for Central Asia and Azerbaijan:
“This program covers five Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan; the program was launched in Azerbaijan in 2024, and Azerbaijan is one of the key participants in this program. Now, what are the prospects for us? We understand that we need to grow business in the country, especially in terms of supporting the private sector and SMEs. We are focusing on expanding our partnerships with local banks so that through them, we can offer Sharia-compliant trade finance solutions, capacity building, and advisory services to SMEs and private sector clients in the country.
In addition, in accordance with ITFC’s mandate, we can also focus on large-scale trade finance programs with sovereign guarantees.”
“On the trade development side, we will focus on expanding cooperation to offer integrated trade finance solutions, which will help the growth of the private sector and the economy,” he added.