Half of concessional loans go to agriculture as number of women entrepreneurs rises 7%

Deputy Economy Minister Səməd Bashirli said that nearly half of the concessional loans issued by the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund are directed to agricultural production, while the other half supports industrial and various economic sectors. He noted that 76% of these loans were issued in the regions.

Between January and September 2025, banks issued 250 million manats in concessional financing for 4,590 investment projects worth a total of 564 million manats, enabling the creation of 3,500 new jobs.

Additionally, in the first 10 months of 2025, the Fund provided 27.9 million manats in concessional loans to 498 projects, resulting in 367 new jobs.

Bashirli said that inclusive entrepreneurship has expanded opportunities for women, with the number of women entrepreneurs increasing by 7% to nearly 333,000 in the first half of 2025.

He stressed that human capital development lies at the core of digital transformation. Over the past decade, state funding for science has doubled. Education spending exceeded 4.5 billion manats in 2024 and is set to surpass 5 billion manats in the 2026 budget.

Bashirli added that new programmes aimed at enhancing digital and innovation-oriented skills are being implemented. More than 55,000 citizens have benefited from the “4SI Academy”, created under a public-private partnership between the Economy Ministry, the Ministry of Science and Education, and Coursera.

N. Tebrizli