Armenian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are set to benefit from a new $20 million SME Facility provided by the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) to Armeconombank (Armenian Economy Development Bank), a longstanding partner financial institution in Armenia.

Signed on the sidelines of the Bank’s Business Forum, “Armenia: Accelerating Regional Success”, this new facility will be on-lent to Armenian SMEs to enhance their liquidity, expand operations, and strengthen their capacity to engage in cross-border trade. The financing is expected to support employment, income generation, and regional trade growth.

“Our cooperation with Armeconombank is a testament to what long-term partnerships can achieve. Over the years of working with our partner bank, we’ve helped hundreds of Armenian SMEs access funding to sustain their activities and growth plans. This new facility, signed at our Business Forum, underlines BSTDB’s role in fostering regional integration and creating real economic opportunities for Armenian businesses through improved access to finance and cross-border trade”, said Dr. Serhat Köksal, President of BSTDB.

Artak Arakelyan, the CEO of ARMECONOMBANK OJSC says: “We would like to express our deep gratitude for the strategic cooperation between Armeconombank and BSTDB starting from far 2007. Throughout these 18 years AEB has emphasized the importance of cooperation with international organizations, the evidence of which is the comprehensive partnership record with first class IFIs witnessed by the successful projects and the level of trust towards the Bank. This is the subsequent SME Facility that will allow our bank to unlock the long-term financing with competitive conditions to clients at this challenging time.”

BSTDB’s cooperation with Armeconombank began in 2007 and has since delivered three SME loan facilities totaling $25 million.