FIF - ACBA SME Competitivenss Loan

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a senior unsecured loan to ACBA bank of up to USD 5m for SME financing under the SME Competitiveness Programme in EAP ("SME Competitiveness Programme").

Project ID 51733

Status Repaying

Location

Armenia

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Anzhelika Baghramyan
Anzhelika.Baghramyan@acba.am
+ 374 10 31 8888
www.acba.am
82-84 Aram str. / 0002 Yerevan / Republic of Armenia

Project ID 51733

Status Repaying

Location

Armenia

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Approval Date

27 Apr 2021

Disclosure date

30 Apr 2021

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

FIF - ACBA SME Competitivenss Loan (Armenian) (PDF, 0.55MB)

Project description

Provision of a senior unsecured loan to ACBA bank of up to USD 5m for SME financing under the SME Competitiveness Programme in EAP ("SME Competitiveness Programme").

Project objectives

The proceeds of the Bank's investment will be on-lent by the bank and its leasing subsidiary in line with SME Competitiveness Programme' Policy Statement to private sector sub-borrowers in order to upgrade their technologies and equipment up to EU standards including for investments into sustainable investments in technologies and promoting the use of green technologies, thereby enhancing MSMEs' competitiveness.

Transition impact

ETI Score:75

ject is expected to address existing market barriers that SMEs face to undertake necessary investments (limited access to medium and long-term financing, lack of technical expertise for identification and design of related improvements). The project will also further strengthen capacity of ACBA in assessing and financing targeted investments.

Client information

ACBA BANK OJSC

ACBA bank is a long-standing partner bank of EBRD since the first engagement in 2003 and one of the leading banks in Armenia. It is the 4th largest bank in Armenia in terms of total assets with a dominant position in lending to agriculture and MSMEs in rural areas in particular. The bank belongs to the local shareholder ACBA Federation CJSC (non-profit organization, which consolidates 10 Agri unions in Armenia), which currently owns 95% of shares, while Sacam International SJSC owns the remaining 5%.

EBRD Finance Summary

USD 5,000,000.00

Total project cost

USD 5,000,000.00

Additionality

The project will provide long-term financing to ACBA bank in a market where short-term assets and liabilities prevail. ACBA and its clients will benefit from the EaP SMEC capacity building programme supporting investment project preparation and implementation. The sub-borrowers will also receive financial incentives for successfully implemented sub-projects.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised FI (ESP 2019): ACBA bank will be required to continue to comply with PRs 2, 4 & 9, implement the applicable environmental and social procedures and submit annual ennvironmental and social reports to the Bank.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

TC: the project will be supported by a comprehensive TC package funded by the European Union, with the objective to assist ACBA bank with capacity building, implementation and monitoring of the programme.

Non-TC: Sub-projects will be eligible for incentive grants (up to 15% of the lower of the investment cost or the respective disbursed sub-loan amount) funded by the European Union.

Company Contact Information

Anzhelika Baghramyan
Anzhelika.Baghramyan@acba.am
+ 374 10 31 8888
www.acba.am
82-84 Aram str. / 0002 Yerevan / Republic of Armenia

PSD last updated

30 Apr 2021

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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FIF - ACBA SME Competitivenss Loan

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)