MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Armenia’s Ameriabank Borrowing $30m from FMO for Youth-owned SMEs

The Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, recently announced it will loan USD 30 million to Ameriabank CJSC, a closed joint stock company in Armenia, to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) led by young entrepreneurs in Armenia.

Founded in 1910, Ameriabank offers corporate, investment and retail banking services as well as aiming to “implement business and social projects that significantly impact the well-being of the society” [1]. Ameriabank has ARD 719 billion (USD 1.5 billion) in total assets as of 2017 and made roughly ARD 6 billion (USD 13 million) in profit during 2016.

The vision of FMO is to help abolish extreme poverty, increase equality and support measures that reduce climate change. It reports total assets of EUR 8.5 billion (USD 9.5 billion) and profit before taxes of EUR 219 million (USD 245 million) for the year 2016 [2].

By Alex Gelfond, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

FMO press release: https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/e8208362-4e3b-48f4-9d27-16aa395a326c/fmo-supports-young-entrepreneurs-in-armenia

[1] Ameriabank CJSC: https://www.ameriabank.am/

[2] MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO, Triodos, Accion Invest Equity in Nicaraguan Microfinance Institution Financiera FAMA
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-fmo-triodos-accion-invest-equity-nicaraguan-microfinance-institution-financiera-fama/

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