EBRD €1 m loan for supporting women-led SMEs in Kosovo

17 / 04 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will extend a €1 million loan loan to support Women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) will receive the loan for EBRD for on-lending to women-led local enterprises as the cank ramps up its support for the economies where it invests, which are faced with the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

The AFK becomes the first the microfinance institution in the country to join the EBRD Women in Business program.

The loan will contribute to women’s economic inclusion in Kosovo by supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises led by women to better access finance and business advisory services. It also aims to support the alleviation of gender gaps while demonstrating the business case for scaling up lending to this segment.

The EBRD Women in Business program supports women entrepreneurs to access finance and know-how to grow their businesses. Since its launch in 2014, the program, supported in Kosovo by Luxembourg and Sweden, has provided more than €520 million in credit lines, reaching more than 70,000 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in 18 countries, with access to finance, advisory services, training, mentoring and network-building activities.

In the Western Balkans, the program has reached over 5,000 women entrepreneurs with financing and advisory services to date.

AFK is the fourth-largest microfinance institution in Kosovo. Operating since October 2000, AFK provides access to finance to micro and small firms run by entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas. AFK services the whole of Kosovo through a network of 23 branches.

The EBRD has invested over €484 million in Kosovo through 72 projects since it began operations there in 2012. Supporting the competitive development of the private sector is one of the Bank’s key priorities in Kosovo.