Today, USAID Baku and the Azerbaijan Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost bilateral cooperation to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan. Ambassador Litzenberger and USAID Mission Director Jay Singh participated in the ceremony.
SMEs, including many small family-owned businesses, are the backbone of a healthy national economy. However, over the past year, SMEs around the world have faced countless unprecedented challenges due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Under the terms of the new MOU, USAID and the SMBDA will identify barriers for Azerbaijani SMEs, recommend policy reforms to boost growth, and promote U.S.-Azerbaijani business linkages. We hope that this new collaboration will help Azerbaijani entrepreneurs and their families to grow their business and prosper.
Ambassador Litzenberger said today that he hopes “this MOU will lead to business partnerships that will allows us to prosper together.”