YEREVAN, November 15. /ARKA/. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing $6 million in loans and $200,000 in technical assistance grants to FINCA, one of the leading credit organizations in the country, to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) and farmers, helping them to raise income levels and employment, the press office of the Asian Development Bank reported on Tuesday.

“Low access to finance is a significant problem in Armenia,” the ADB says in its press release. “Only 18% of adults aged 15 and above have a bank account and out of the 130,000 small and medium-sized enterprises only 50% have access to finance, and this figure increases to 60%–70% in rural areas.”

ADB’s financing package will allow FINCA to provide long-term funds to clients. ADB’s funding will be used to support underserved populations, with up to 75% of ADB’s funding destined for MSMEs outside of Yerevan, and up to 70% used to onlend to agricultural borrowers.

ADB will also provide technical assistance to FINCA to support the development of a credit scoring system and help the institution become certified under the global “Smart” campaign, which aims to embed client protection practices in financial institutions.

ADB’s non-sovereign support for private finance in Armenia has focused on funding banks that support MSME activities. In addition to the Trade Finance Program, since 2011, ADB has approved loans totaling $71 million to Armenian banks for onlending to MSMEs.

ADB has been working with the Government of Armenia since 2005 and has approved 26 loans totaling $1.27 billion and 26 technical assistance grants totaling $16.5 million.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing. -0----