On April 22, 2015, OWIT-Ottawa, jointly with Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA) and The Canadian Turkish Business Council, held a seminar on the occasion of EBRD’s executives’ visit to the country, Yvette Hunt (Manager, Business Development) and Jorge Zukoski (Senior Business Development Representative, North America).
EBRD’s executives led the conversation on opportunities the EBRD, a triple-A rated multilateral development bank with a Preferred Creditor status, can offer to North American suppliers in various markets in Europe, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region and Central Asia, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Turkey, Ukraine, and other countries. The Bank’s operations extend across 36 countries and involve a broad range of industry sectors that are divided into four portfolios – energy (power and energy, and natural resources), infrastructure (municipal and environmental infrastructure, and transport), financial institutions and services, and corporate (including manufacturing, agribusiness, property and tourism, and information and communication technologies).
It was especially interesting to hear the examples of many successful projects that have been led in those countries with the assistance of the EBRD, and that the majority of the Bank’s projects are with private sector investors ranging from small and medium-size enterprises to large international corporations.
The speakers outlined not only a broad variety but also the flexibility of services the Bank offers to its clients, which aim to be tailored to the specific needs of a project.
The EBRD, a sophisticated institution that is equipped with both significant operational knowledge (e.g., about local economy and business environment and practices) and local presence, has been viewed by its private and public sector clients as a strong and reliable long-term financial partner that is prepared to share not only business but also political risks. The Bank’s close working relations with local governments and political leverage due to its unique mandate and the shareholder structure have been the distinct features of the Bank’s operations, that attract investments into the region.