Publications

Over the past few years the Azerbaijan microfinance sector has evolved with remarkable growth in outreach, scale and competition among microfinance institutions (MFIs). The number of active borrowers has increased sixfold since 2004, and the outstanding portfolio close to tenfold. In recent years, MFIs expanded outside of the capital city Baku into underserved rural areas. As of 31 December 2008, 16 microfinance providers served more than 200,000 clients throughout Azerbaijan, with over 90 branch offices reaching 61 of the 77 districts in the country. From 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2009, the aggregate portfolio value for non bank credit organizations (NBCOs) increased from 10 million USD to over 171 million USD.

This report, jointly produced by the Azerbaijan Microfinance Association (AMFA) and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), analyzes the trends in performance and growth of Azeri MFIs in view of the financial crisis and economic recession in the region as well as the changing legislative environment in 2008, and includes 2008 data from 18 Azeri MFIs.