- EBRD unfunded portfolio guarantee of up to €25 million to ProCredit Bank Skopje
- Facility will help ProCredit to extend support to larger number of MSMEs
- Project backed by the European Union through its EFSD+ guarantee programme
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU), in partnership with ProCredit Bank Skopje, are boosting access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across North Macedonia.
Under the agreement signed today, the EBRD will provide ProCredit Bank Skopje with an unfunded risk-sharing guarantee of up to €25 million. The guarantee will cover up to 50 per cent of the credit risk on new loans issued by ProCredit and will therefore pave the way for up to €50 million in new MSME lending through this EBRD portfolio risk-sharing product.
The guarantee is backed by technical assistance and a first-loss counter-guarantee from the EU’s European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) programme. It targets underserved businesses, such as those led by women and young entrepreneurs, and rural MSMEs, aiming to foster inclusive economic development.
By sharing part of the risk, the EBRD and EU are helping ProCredit to strengthen its resilience and expand lending. The portfolio risk-sharing broadens the spectrum of EBRD products in the market, with an innovative solution designed to reduce risk for the EBRD’s partner financial institutions and to address financing gaps for MSMEs.
Fatih Türkmenoğlu, EBRD Head of North Macedonia, said: “This partnership with ProCredit Bank Skopje, supported by the European Union, marks an important step forward in widening access to finance for underserved businesses across North Macedonia. By sharing risk and blending innovative financial tools with targeted technical assistance, we are helping more MSMEs invest confidently in their growth and resilience. This is the kind of inclusive and sustainable financing the EBRD is committed to advancing throughout the Western Balkans.”
“This initiative, implemented through a portfolio guarantee scheme, enhances support for MSMEs in North Macedonia and represents a significant step towards their further development. It reaffirms our longstanding cooperation with the EBRD, supported by the EU, as well as our long-term commitment to fostering the development of the real economy. Through this guarantee, ProCredit Bank can expand lending to market segments that tend to face limited access to finance – in particular, businesses led by women and young entrepreneurs, as well as rural micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. We believe that this approach will contribute to strengthening their resilience and will support sustainable, long-term growth,” said Milan Damchevski, Management Board member of ProCredit Bank.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in North Macedonia, with more than €3 billion invested in supporting the country’s sustainable development, infrastructure, private-sector growth and regional integration.