BSTDB’s Local Currency Facility to Support Micro and Small Businesses in Georgia
Press Release | 17-Jun-2019
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) will provide a 3-year GEL 15 million microfinance facility to a new intermediary partner Crystal, a leading Georgian microfinance institution specializing in financing the agricultural sector. The facility will be funded with BSTDB’s Georgian Lari (GEL) bond issuance to be placed among public investors and will contribute to the local capital market development. The BSTDB financing is expected to improve access to financing for 400-500 Georgian farmers and small entrepreneurs in rural areas to increase their production value, productivity, and create jobs.
“We are delighted to partner with Crystal in supporting micro and small enterprise engaged in agribusiness, a major income generator in Georgia,” said Dmitry Pankin while signing the loan agreement at the BSTDB Regional Business Forum in Istanbul. “Access to capital remains a key challenge for Georgian farmers, and our cooperation with Crystal aims at helping many of them.
JSC Microfinance Organization Crystal is the first and the largest non-banking institution in Georgia to support development of micro and small size enterprises and farmers locally, by offering them micro, SME and agro loans. The Company is headquartered in Kutaisi, western Georgia. It operates across the country and is represented by 62 branches and service points with total number of more than 800 employees. For more information, please visit https://ir.crystal.ge/.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s and “A2” by Moody’s. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.
Press contact:
Haroula Christodoulou
Phone: +30 2310 290533
E-mail: cchristodoulou@bstdb.org
