The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, has signed portfolio guarantee agreements with 11 banks and financial intermediaries in the Western Balkans economies. Funded under the European Union’s WB EDIF (Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility) Guarantee for SME Resilience Initiative, these agreements will enable local banks and financial institutions to build a portfolio of SME loans for an aggregate amount of well above €750m, along with those yet to signed in the first half of 2024.
These financial resources are intended to increase access to finance among small businesses and improve their resilience to ongoing economic distress, while creating conditions for business expansion, employment and innovation. In Kosovo, this facility is expected to deploy a total of €37m of worth loans available at favourable lending conditions to some 690 small businesses, while sustaining around 9 500 jobs.
