ABA Held Access to Finance Business to Bank Roundtable in Balkh Province
Date: December 23-24, 2014
Afghanistan Banks Association (ABA) with support from USAID's Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) project organized a two-day ABA-Access to Finance (A2F) Business to Bank Roundtable (B2B) event in Balkh province during December 23-24, 2014.
The roundtable specifically targeted the enterprises functioning in Balkh Province of Afghanistan by facilitating access to finance through linking them with banks and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in the area. The roundtable provided the enterprises with the opportunity to exchange viewpoints in identifying challenges and opportunities/strengths in improving their productivity and access to finance. Invitees included public and private sector representatives who are involved in production, trade, services and financing activities.
Objectives:
To improve access to finance for enterprises doing business in Balkh province through targeted discussions and meetings between relevant stakeholders.
To Link enterprises with the financial institutions.
In this event, Mr. Edrees Alimy ABA Research Analyst from ABA, 10 representatives of 5 ABA Member banks namely Afghanistan International bank (AIB), Azizi Bank, Maiwand Bank, Ghazanfar Bank and The First Microfinance Bank (FMFB), government officials from Balkh province Economy, Commerce and Industry and Agricultures Departments, representatives from different businesses, handicrafts and youth associations participated.
Mr. Alimy on behalf of ABA, delivered a substantial speech on establishment of ABA, role of ABA in development of financial sector, ABA objectives and role of FAIDA/USAID for development of Afghanistan financial sector.
In the two days events the participants enjoyed from different topics/sessions namely presentation on ABA overview, ABA Member banks Presentation on their products/ services and roundtable discussions with businesses, loan facilitation, business planning, contract farming, and branchless banking and mobile money presentations by FAIDA representatives.
