Armenia
| Title | Women's Entrepreneurship Support Sector Development Program |
| Type of project | Private Sector Development |
| Client | Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center (SMEDNC) |
| Origin of funding | Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila, Philippines |
| Duration | 03/2013 - 12/2015 |
The Government of Armenia has requested ADB’s support in promoting women entrepreneurship in the country and a Sector Development Program. This program is supported by Technical Assistance contracted to PEM CONSULT by ADB and starting on the 1st of March 2013 for a 3-year implementation period.
The “Women’s Entrepreneurship Support Sector Development Program (WESSDP)” comprises an integrated approach to enable women entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Armenia to play a greater role in economic development. The program has two components: (i) a policy-based loan to help fund budget allocations to strengthen the business environment and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center
(SME DNC) of Armenia and its support for women entrepreneurs and MSMEs; and (ii) a financial intermediation loan (FIL) to enable participating financial institutions (PFIs) to provide local currency loans to MSMEs.
- Increasing the capacity of the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center (SME DNC), project management unit of the German-Armenian Fund (PMU GAF) and participating financial institutions (PFIs) to support women entrepreneurs.
- Strengthening the awareness and technical capacity of existing or potential women entrepreneurs and business support organizations to ensure that the former can benefit from the increased credit resources under the FI component.
