Success stories

Never give up: How an Azeri woman built successful gourmet service from the ground up
17/09/2020
Building a prosperous business from scratch is not an easy task. It requires diligence, patience and hard work—lots of hard work. "You just need to follow your dream,” says Afet Akhmadova , founder of Zira Natural & Gourmet . Set up originally in 2013 as a marketing company, Zira is now a successful maker of premium segment food. Getting the company to this new level, adds Afet, was possible...
Weaving a future: The Agalarov family rides carpets to success
01/09/2020
The Agalarov family fled to the Shaki-Zaqatala region after the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh flared up. Their financial situation back then was fairly poor and the only skill they possessed was carpet weaving. “ When we first arrived here, we had nothing except our carpets and our books,’ says Zamina Agalarova . “We struggled to make a living. Even when you have proper skills, it’s difficult to...
Supporting small businesses in north-west Azerbaijan
Sowing the Seeds of Sustainable Development: Supporting small businesses in north-west Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
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03/07/2019
The majority of households in north-west Azerbaijan live in rural and often remote mountainous areas with limited employment opportunities. The diverse population of the six north-western regions that comprise the Shaki-Zaqatala Economic Zone also includes many vulnerable families displaced by conflict. The Agalarov family, for example, fled to Shaki-Zaqatala from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict...
Baku skyline
Supporting Azerbaijan’s SME reform agenda
Azerbaijan
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09/01/2019
With the support of the OECD within the EU4Business initiative, Azerbaijan has embarked on the implementation of a wide-ranging reform agenda aimed at diversifying the economy and enhancing the contribution of small and medium enterprises to employment, domestic production and exports. The fall in oil prices in 2015, combined with an economic slowdown in key regional trade partners, led to a...
Aydin Aliyev, co-owner of Sermar
Azerbaijan: how European advice helped one company survive the crisis and emerge stronger
Azerbaijan
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13/09/2018
Sermar LLC is a ceramic tiles and accessories store selling leading European products in Baku, a long journey from its beginnings in the early 2000s, when it was established as a small shop selling construction materials. “At that time it was just a small store covering a 15-50 square metre area,” recalls the co-owner of the company, Aydin Aliyev .“For 12-13 years, the store operated in that way...
Rahman Abdurahmanov, the General Director of AZZA
The sweet taste of success
Azerbaijan
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26/07/2018
AZZA Cake House is the most popular manufacturer of cake and confectionary products in Azerbaijan. Originally established as a clothes store in 2004, the brand subsequently branched out into the café business. Four years later, AZZA moved into confectionary, and the company has not looked back since, today boasting the largest network of cake shops in the country. “ Initially we were working as a...
Staying on top of the game: EBRD and EU support IT provider in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
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09/07/2018
It’s hard to imagine how a modern organisation was able to function without computers just a few decades ago and likely much of our office life would come to an abrupt halt if we did not have access to these vital systems now. In Azerbaijan, DiVi specialises in IT solutions for the workplace. The company supplies computer and office equipment – everything from PCs, tablets and printers to...
Dreaming of a cash-free society: how EU and EBRD support helped transform an online payment platform
Azerbaijan
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06/06/2018
Eleven years ago, Farid Ismayilzada founded ‘GoldenPay’, an online payment processing service for Azerbaijan. Returning from the United States where he’d been working at the time, he spotted a business opportunity when he realised that online trading, shopping or payments were not available in his home country. “For me, it was an opportunity to set up business and as soon as I discovered it, I...
Bakhtiyar Meyvaddin Novruzbeyov
From unemployment to a successful business: the story of Bakhtiyar
Azerbaijan
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11/12/2017
"It took me a while to realise that knowledge is indeed power. Like the knowledge that working with a bank is the best way to transform a fragile idea into a solid business," says Bakhtiyar Meyvaddin Novruzbeyov, who set up his grocery store with the help of Access Bank in Azerbaijan, the European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE), and EU4Business . “Just over ten years ago, I found myself...
Fuad Mammadali Aliyev
Azerbaijan: How Fuad made his dream come true, with the help of EU4Business
Azerbaijan
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03/12/2017
“For a long time, going into business on my own seemed like an impossible dream, but sometimes you get lucky and you find someone who shares the dream with you and helps to make it come true.” That’s how it all began for Fuad Mammadali Aliyev, with the help of Access Bank, the European Fund for South East Europe (EFSE), and EU4Business . Just over fifteen years ago Aliyev gave up his job as a...