Mr. Ilgar Taghiyev is the Senior Banking Expert at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Banking, an EBRD project. Mr. Taghiyev has extensive experience in the banking industry with a focus on micro lending. Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer at EMBAFINANS, one of the largest non-bank credit organizations based in Baku, Azerbaijan; Deputy CEO of Qafqaz Leasing; and a Senior Consultant for EBRD’s project on SME lending and co-financing. He has served in various senior positions at Demir Bank and Bank of Baku. Mr. Taghiyev is currently pursuing a joint Executive MBA degree at Maastricht School of Management and ADA University and holds a BA in Finance and Banking from Azerbaijan State Economics University (2001). He also has been a MasterCard Foundation Scholar in Microfinance at the Summer Academy of Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and received certification as an Expert in Microfinance (2012).