WB to support self-employment project in Azerbaijan - EXCLUSIVE

World Bank (WB) will determine the form of support to the self-employment field by developing a project on extension of self-employment program in autumn, Report informs citing the WB Baku office.

"Azerbaijani government has sent an inquiry to the World Bank to participate in the project on support to the employment in the country. It’s difficult to specify the form of the World Bank’s support to the project because there has been an evaluation mission in the country for this purpose so far. However, there are some versions. The World Bank can support this project through loan, technical support or consultation," the office said.

Azerbaijan has not been borrowing a concessional loan from the World Bank through the International Development Association for a long time, but attracting loan under the condition of the EBRD.

The self-employment program upon the order of the head of state on ‘Additional measures on ensuring self-employment of population’ dated 2016 leads to increase of labor productivity, economic activity and family incomes of the population, creation of more jobs, increase of taxpayers. Earlier, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev said that the program will concern more than 60,000 citizens, create nearly 15,000 small businesses, and within the program, nearly 7,000 families would be involved in this program thanks to Unemployment Insurance Fund, more 7,000 – 8,000 families thanks to World Bank’s funds in 2020. The program, which covered 6,000 families in 2018, is expected to cover 8-10,000 families in 2019.