Yerevan will host the second tailor-made course on “Financial Investment Preparation” on October 15 and 16.

The course is organized by The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) SME Finance and Development Group in Armenia in collaboration with the Head of the Yerevan Resident Office.

This initiative again became possible through the European Union, the EBRD’s core donor in advisory support activities to support the development of sustainable private sector in Armenia. The course will bring the best international practice and local know-how to local SMEs.

The overall objective of “Financial Investment Preparation” course is to increase demand for local consultancy services aimed at preparing local enterprises for various stages of financial investment and to increase shareholder value as a result of obtaining funding within the engagement spectrum. It will reflect the latest developments in the financial products/instruments and will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills to local consultants.

“More modern business processes, such as strong corporate governance, transparency, environmental - social policies and investor relations, are key toward attracting junior forms of capital, including mezzanine and equity investments, as well as market instruments such as bonds and listed equity, which can provide the critical long- term capital firms need to grow and prosper”, - said Mark Davis, Head of the Yerevan Resident Office.

Taking into consideration the previous positive experience, EBRD under the EU SME Flagship Initiative once again invited Gavin Ryan to deliver “Financial Investment Preparation” course to the local consultants. Gavin Ryan will share his expertise of exposing local SMEs to investment opportunities to grow and become genuine catalysts for their local economies.

Gavin Ryan’s worked in London and Tokyo with Nomura Securities and HSBC Investment Bank, as well as Soros Investment Management.

Talking about the training, Gavin Ryan noted that the training course is a practical one, based upon relevant experiences and cases from Central and Eastern European countries.

“We aim to equip SMEs and their consultants with the necessary skills to secure financial resources for growth. This we will do by exploring equity and quasi-equity products on the marketplace; and looking at the positive actions an SME can take to position itself, such as corporate governance upgrading and good business planning”, he said.

“This is yet another bespoke finance training course EBRD is offering Armenian consultants. We at SME Finance and Development Group are committed to further strengthening local consulting industry and providing necessary access to finance tools to the Armenian SMEs”, - said Tigran Aghabekyan, National Programme Manager of Advice for Small Businesses.

Over €5.3 million of donor funding has been committed to more than 1,000 EBRD advisory projects and market development activities for small businesses in Armenia since 2003.

The EBRD, owned by 64 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, is supporting the development of market economies and democracies. You can follow EBRD on the web, Facebook  and Twitter.