The European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the European Union, will provide €20 million to the ProCredit Group to offer a new credit line for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Moldova and support their faster recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The credit line can be made available in multiple currencies, including in the local currency, IPN reports.
A press release issued by the two banks says the investment is a part of a €55 million regional agreement with the ProCredit Group. The transaction provides much-needed financing to companies in Moldova to address working capital issues created by the ongoing pandemic. The EIB loan also strengthens the national banking sector of Moldova and reinforces its ability to finance the economic recovery of the country.
EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska, who is in charge of operations in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, said that Team Europe continues to support economic recovery of EU partner countries in the Eastern Neighborhood from COVID-19, reinforcing pan-European solidarity in these difficult times. “We have thus created new sources of financing at a moment when such aid is crucial for the survival of our SMEs. We look forward to expanding our partnership in the future, so as to allow even more companies benefit from our shared dedication to support SMEs grow and develop,” stated Teresa Czerwińska.
Erika Hasznos, Chargé d'affaires a.i., EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova said that under the Team Europe approach, considerable resources have been mobilized by all EU institutions, EU Member States and the financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank (EIB), to tackle the challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. “We hope that this new line of assistance from the EU Bank for SMEs in the country will bring tangible benefits to improve the life of citizens of the Republic of Moldova,” noted Erika Hasznos.
The management of ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, the parent company of the ProCredit group, said that these EIB credit lines will support SMEs in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to overcome short-term liquidity shortages and will provide much-needed support in local currencies for their investment projects. “We expect that this will open them up to new lines of business and opportunities and thus will support economic recovery in the coming years. We are confident that this will be stimulated by a structural shift towards investments that are climate-friendly as well as socially and ecologically sustainable.”
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
