YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. Inspired by women entrepreneurs Acba Bank jointly with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched a new financial assistance project designed to encourage the involvement of women in entrepreneurship, the bank's press service reported.

"We believe that on a national scale we have a very large reserve potential. We need to encourage women, provide assistance, demonstrate ways how to take advantage of these opportunities. Acba Bank through its series of events tries to make it all a reality," said Arsen Melkonyan, Acba Bank's deputy CEO in charge of streamlining business functions.

"The EBRD attaches importance to gender equality in the transition process; we also have many women in management positions. The EBRD is committed to providing assistance to women-run small and medium-sized businesses so that they can grow economically, create jobs, and develop their skills. That's why we started supporting the Women in Business Program," said George Akhalkatsi, head of EBRD Resident Office in Yerevan.

The financial terms and conditions of the Women in Business program can be found here. The Women in Business program will provide mentoring, business training and consultations to inspire and encourage women to start small and medium-sized businesses and to implement new ideas.

Acba Bank is controlled by the Central Bank of Armenia. -0-