EFSE success stories. Levik Mikaelyan: cooperation with a bank is always safe

EFSE success stories. Levik Mikaelyan: cooperation with a bank is always safe

“I am pleased with my cooperation with ACBA, as it helps me develop by business. I am not saying it just for effect,” Mikaelyan says.

Levik Mikaelyan, the head of Namels LLC, runs a shop selling spare parts for soviet and Russian-made vehicles in Artashat, the center of Armenia’s Ararat province. “I was always interested in spares,” says Mikaelyan, who used to live in Tolyatti, a city in Samara region of Russia, which is famous for its motor-car plant.

PanARMENIAN.Net - He decided to return to Armenia in 1985 and then started importing and selling spare parts in his hometown Artashat. In 2006, he opened a shop to enlarge the business, offering wholesale and retail of spares to his clients.

Mikaelyan has 3 loans with ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank, the latest provided at the amount of AMD 8 million 400 thousand in April 2014 to his spouse Vera Mikaelyan, who is the co-founder of Namels LLC.

“I am pleased with my cooperation with ACBA, as it helps me develop my business. I am not saying it just for effect. I am really satisfied how things are going. Imagine if I take money from a physical person, who can demand to return the funds all of a sudden. This would make me nervous. Cooperation with the bank is quite different and safe: you know the terms and work according to them,” he says.

Although the volume of European and Japanese car export increased lately and the spares for Russian cars are not purchased at the same amount, Mikaelyan doesn’t complain about low sales.

ABCA-Credit Agricole Bank's representatives say he is never late with payments, even going ahead of the schedule.

“If a client of mine makes major purchases, I immediately go to the bank to pay off the loan,” Mikaelyan explains.

For the future, he doesn’t rule getting another loan, should the sales increase.

ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank is the largest Armenian bank in terms of assets and loans. The Bank has a competitive advantage with its wide branch network and a particularly strong presence in rural areas. Initially targeted towards financing rural economies of Armenia, ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank introduced loans to small and medium enterprises back in 1999, and consumer loans in 2001. Presently, the Bank has various loan products that can be divided into five categories: agricultural loans, business loans, consumer loans, mortgage loans and credit card loans.

ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank is a relatively new partner lending institution of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE).

“The partnership with ACBA Leasing is the EFSE’s first partnership in Armenia’s leasing sector. Given its increasingly important role as a viable alternative to bank financing, ACBA Leasing’s business strategy fits in perfectly with the EFSE’s mission to enhance financial inclusion and foster economic development throughout our target region,” Monika Beck, Chairperson of the EFSE Board said in November 2013, when the cooperation started.

The project is sponsored by the European Fund for Southeast Europe

Lusine Mkrtumova / PanARMENIAN.Net
 Most popular in the section
Armenia’s “useless” manpower
Small and medium sized businesses weigh in on consequences of war
New markets opening for home-grown products
 At focus
Armenia dismisses Turkey’s demand to shut down nuclear plant as “inappropriate”

Armenia dismisses Turkey’s demand to shut down nuclear plant as “inappropriate” Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”.

 More articles in this section
Reduction of personnel and tax collection growth State Revenue Committee changes its policy
---