YEREVAN. – In a continuing effort to contribute to the development of a sustainable infrastructure of local business advisory services, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) SME Finance and Development Group in Armenia in collaboration with the Head of the Yerevan Resident Office initiated the second tailor-made course on “Financial Investment Preparation”.

This initiative again became possible through the European Union, the EBRD’s core donor in advisory support activities to support the development of sustainable private sector in Armenia, which brings international best practice and local know-how to local SMEs.

The overall objective of “Financial Investment Preparation” course is to increase demand for local consultancy services aimed at preparing local enterprises for various stages of financial investment and to increase shareholder value as a result of obtaining funding within the engagement spectrum. It will reflect the latest developments in the financial products/instruments and will facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills to local consultants.

“More modern business processes, such as strong corporate governance, transparency, environmental - social policies and investor relations, are key toward attracting junior forms of capital, including mezzanine and equity investments, as well as market instruments such as bonds and listed equity, which can provide the critical long term capital firms need to grow and prosper”, said Mark Davis, Head of the Yerevan Resident Office.

Taking into consideration the recent positive experience EBRD under the EU SME Flagship Initiative once again invited Gavin Ryan to deliver “Financial Investment Preparation” course to the local consultants.

Worth mentioning that Gavin Ryan is an international expert with over 25 years’ experience in financial industry and private equity markets, to share his expertise of exposing local SMEs to investment opportunities to grow and become genuine catalysts for their local economies. Mr Ryan’s successful experience as an investment banker in London and Tokyo with Nomura Securities and HSBC Investment Bank, and his knowledge gained as a private equity fund manager with Soros Investment Management will allow obtaining the best practice knowledge and offering more sophisticated tools to SMEs on engaging with investors.

Talking about the training Gavin Ryan noted: “the training course is a practical one, based upon relevant experiences and cases from Central and Eastern European countries. We aim to equip SMEs and their consultants with the necessary skills to secure financial resources for growth. This we will do by exploring equity and quasi-equity products on the marketplace; and looking at the positive actions an SME can take to position itself, such as corporate governance upgrading and good business planning."

“This is yet another bespoke finance training course EBRD is offering Armenian consultants”, - said Tigran Aghabekyan, National Programme Manager of Advice for Small Businesses - “We at SME Finance and Development Group are committed to further strengthening local consulting industry and providing necessary access to finance tools to the Armenian SMEs”.

The training will take place on 15-16 October, in Yerevan.

Over €5.3 million of donor funding has been committed to more than 1,000 EBRD advisory projects and market development activities for small businesses in Armenia since 2003.

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