"Green projects" is one of the priority directions for the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF).

Osman Khaliyev, Chairman of the Board of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund under the Ministry of Economy, said this in a private interview with "Trend" International News Agency.

"Green" projects have been included in the priority directions of the current year. Entrepreneurs can apply for the Fund's preferential loan mechanism for financing "green" projects and benefit from a loan at an annual rate of 5%. So far, 3 "green" projects have benefited from this mechanism. One of these projects is in the poultry farm. aims to meet its energy needs through solar panels.

Another project will implement the installation of electric charging stations in the direction of e-infrastructure development. Another project will realize the production of construction materials through recycling, which supports the circular economy," he said.

Osman Khaliyev said that such projects can be implemented in various areas of the economy, and EDF is ready to finance all initiatives of entrepreneurs, including "green" projects, on preferential terms.

According to him, EDF has developed its own ESG model.

"In this direction, the fund has developed an ESG model in accordance with international standards. With this, we are able to determine the effects and potential risks of the financed business entities in terms of the environment, social sphere and corporate management aspects through the ESG model. By applying this model, the fund will prevent the identified risks in the future. aims to buy or reduce to a minimum", - said O. Khaliyev.

The chairman noted that the Fund also solves important issues such as creating new jobs and providing women and young entrepreneurs with preferential financial resources.

"In 2023, 3154 new jobs are planned to be created as a result of the implementation of the projects financed by EDF. 398 of the projects granted concessional loans by SIF belong to women and young entrepreneurs," added O. Khaliyev.

The chairman of the fund said that in the first quarter of this year, 43.1 million manat concessional credit funds allocated to 1065 projects through authorized credit organizations were used by business entities operating in various economic fields.

According to Osman Khaliyev, the main mission of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF) is to provide financial support to business entities in the country, to support the development of cooperation between the state and entrepreneurs, as well as to support the creation of an environment of mutual trust.

"Currently, the Fund cooperates with 21 banks, 9 non-bank credit organizations and 10 credit unions operating in the country for the benefit of financial support for business entities on preferential terms. Only during the first 3 months of this year, 43.1 million manats were allocated to 1065 projects through authorized credit institutions. Business entities operating in various economic fields benefited from the loan funds," he said.

O. Khaliyev emphasized the importance of cooperation between the Fund and the private sector in the implementation of financial mechanisms that support entrepreneurship. The chairman said that the support mechanisms of the Fund, such as preferential loans, guarantees and subsidies, and equipment loans, are implemented through authorized credit organizations.

"Each of the concessional loans was given to the relevant projects of business entities operating in the priority directions defined for 2024. The projects are first analyzed by authorized credit organizations and then by the Fund.

When the fund decides to allocate funds, the project's contribution to the country's economy, including its impact on economic growth, is taken into account. As SIF, in addition to credit institutions, we cooperate with various associations and entrepreneur clubs, we hold regular meetings with the members of those organizations," added O. Khaliyev.

Speaking about the activity in the liberated territories, the Chairman of the Fund noted that there is a special approach to the territories liberated from occupation in the priority areas defined for concessional loans.
"From 2022, the fund supports business entities operating in the territories freed from occupation with concessional loans. So far, concessional loans of more than 14 million manats have been granted to 7 projects operating in those territories.

I would like to emphasize that there is a special approach to territories freed from occupation in the priority areas defined for concessional loans. Thus, entrepreneurs operating in the service sector in these areas can also benefit from concessional loans," he said.

O. Khaliyev said that since February of this year, the Fund has started implementing a guarantee and subsidy mechanism for entrepreneurs in order to support the recovery of economic activity and the acceleration of investments in those areas.

"Within the framework of this mechanism, up to 90% of the business loans of up to 5 million manats, duration up to 7 years, annual interest rate up to 15%, received from banks and non-bank credit organizations by entrepreneurs implementing investment projects in territories freed from occupation are guaranteed by the state", - he said.

The chairman of the fund noted that entrepreneurs can also benefit from subsidies for these loans. 10% of the annual interest rate of those loans is subsidized by the state for up to 36 months, and a grace period of up to 36 months is applied, covering the period up to half of the loan period.

"Entrepreneurs operating in all economic fields that are not prohibited by law in the non-oil sector can apply to this mechanism. The "Electronic credit and guarantee" information system has been created for accepting applications to the mechanism. Thus, entrepreneurs can address their applications electronically without approaching authorized credit organizations or the Fund," he added.

O. Khaliyev emphasized that among the strategic goals of SIF is the availability of preferential financial mechanisms for entrepreneurs.

He noted that one of the biggest benefits of electronicization for entrepreneurs is increased access to financial resources.

"Making concessional financial mechanisms accessible to entrepreneurs is one of the main goals of the Fund's strategy. So, as in the case of the guarantee and subsidy mechanism, entrepreneurs can apply for the concessional credit mechanism through the "Electronic credit and guarantee" information system without going to the branches of authorized credit organizations. we are working towards At present, the related works are being finalized.

The advantages of the electronic platform are not limited to online application. Here, the entrepreneur has the opportunity to constantly monitor the status of his application. In addition, since the information system is integrated with the Electronic Government portal, we can obtain the documents that entrepreneurs have to submit from other government institutions for loan applications from a single database.

This means a reduction in the number of documents that the entrepreneur has to submit. "I think that the advantages of the electronic information system will contribute to the development of an environment of mutual trust between the state and private sector by increasing the accessibility of entrepreneurs to preferential financial resources and ensuring transparency," said the Chairman of the Foundation.

It should be noted that in 2023, 193.8 million manat concessional loans were allocated for the financing of 3276 investment projects by the Entrepreneurship Development Fund.